


Blood Calls To Blood: A Barking Dog Winery Story

by pinkdiamonds



Series: The Barking Dog Winery [6]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Crossover, Drama, Established Relationship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-12
Updated: 2011-08-12
Packaged: 2017-10-22 13:31:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/238554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkdiamonds/pseuds/pinkdiamonds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would you do to protect the ones you love? Jack, Daniel, John, and Rodney are about to find out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Calls To Blood: A Barking Dog Winery Story

**Author's Note:**

> This is a standalone story. It is not necessary to read the series in order to understand this one, but it might make it more enjoyable.
> 
> There is abuse of children implied, but never described. Torture is mentioned, but it is offscreen.
> 
> Thank you to AM.
> 
> Cover art by Astroskylark.

### 

### June

Jack was in the vineyard, checking the health of the vines when Teal’c called him. “O’Neill, you have a guest that would like to speak with you.”

“Okay, T. Care to tell me who?”

There was a moment of silence, and then an almost familiar voice spoke. “Jack. It’s George Hammond. Daniel is fine,” he hurriedly assured Jack. ‘I just wanted to discuss some business.”

“I’m in the middle of the vineyard. If it’s about the next faculty party, Teal’c can help you,” Jack offered.

“No, it’s about something else. May I join you?” Hammond requested politely.

“Sure. I hope you have your walking shoes on it’s a bit muddy. Teal’c knows what section I’m in. Have him drive you in and I’ll meet you,” Jack instructed, starting to walk toward the dirt road that ran through the vineyard.

A jean-clad George was dropped off ten minutes later. “Thanks for meeting with me, Jack,” he said, immediately walking deeper into the vineyard.

“Well, this isn’t the most comfortable place to discuss business . . .” Jack let his comment question the other man, following his quick pace.

Chuckling, Hammond replied, “No, it’s not, but it does make it less likely we’ll be overheard.”

“So, not a party then?”

“I’m afraid not. I was planning on having my secretary book it in a few weeks, if that’s okay.”

“Sure. Always happy to accommodate the college. You wanna give me a hint here, George?” Jack requested, trying to keep his frustration at bay. He hated to be interrupted in the vineyard.

“Jack, did you ever wonder what a retired three star Air Force General was doing running a college?” Hammond asked wryly, slowing his gait.

Jack debated for a moment, wondering if Hammond would believe a lie. Deciding he wouldn’t, he opted for honesty. “Yeah, I have. I also find it odd that you’ve got some of the world’s top scientists working in a backwater, no-name college. No offense.”

“None taken. I told the President you would be suspicious,” he stated dryly.

“Of the United States?” Jack blurted out.

“Jack, when you first got into town and the rumors hit, I pulled your jacket, so I know you understand the meaning of classified. I had to get permission from the President to have this conversation with you.”

The two men continued to slowly walk, Jack noting the state of the vines while trying to take in Hammond’s last remark. “You realize I’m no longer bound by confidentiality, right?”

Shooting Jack a disgusted look, George answered, “I do know that. But, you don’t seem like the type to fuck with National Security or your family’s safety.”

Jack abruptly stopped walking. “I also don’t take well to threats,” he said mildly.

Hammond, hearing the absolute threat directed at him, no matter how mild the rejoinder, hastened to reassure Jack. “Not from me, Jack, and not from the Air Force.”

“Then from who?” Jack demanded.

“It’s a fairly short list. And I’ve been able to keep both you and Doctor Jackson, among others, out of things.” Hammond acknowledged. “But due to a discovery that was made a little over a month ago, that may no longer be possible.”

“What sort of discovery,” Jack asked.

“That’s - - complicated,” Hammond confessed.

Losing patience, Jack barked, ‘Uncomplicate it!”

Sighing, George gathered his thoughts. “In 1928, an artifact was found in Egypt. The military, thinking it might be a weapon, has been working on it for years. When no military application could be found, it was put aside during World War II and again during the Cold War. The best military scientists began working on it again fifteen years ago, with no success until about six years ago.”

“Just about the time you starting hiring world class scientists,” Jack put two and two together.

George gave a short bark of laughter. “The military has some excellent scientists, but it wasn’t until Doctor Jackson translated some hieroglyphs that we were able to make a breakthrough.” Hammond now stopped, making sure he had Jack’s complete attention. “I’m not authorized to tell you what I’m about to without having you sign a nondisclosure agreement, but as a show of trust, I’m going to.

“After Daniel translated the coverstone on the artifact, he was also able to decipher the meaning of some symbols on the artifact itself. Once that happened, a military astrophysicist and Doctor McKay were able to make the device work,” he continued, wondering if Jack would believe what he was about to hear.

“Turns out, the device was designed for intergalactic space travel through means of a wormhole. It’s called a Stargate,” he said.

“You’re kidding, right?” Jack asked incredulously.

“I’m deadly serious. I was originally put in charge of this backwater, no-name school so we could recruit leading scientists and at the same time control the information flow. We couldn’t have top-notch scientists throughout the world just disappear into the military without arousing a great deal of suspicion from other governments. From the first scientist hired, they’ve all had to sign non-disclosure agreements, giving us the ability to control what and when they publish, and in return, they get to work on cutting edge science. It’s a win – win situation, or it was,” George explained.

They continued walking, Jack not taking any notice of the vines, all his attention now focused on Hammond. “So, what did you discover and what does it have to do with me?”

“Five weeks ago, a small space ship was found that we believe is or could be operational. The problem is we need two people to get it back through the Stargate, two very specific people.”

“Let me guess. I’m one of them,” Jack snapped. “You know what? I think I need a drink for the rest of this.” He set a quick pace back to his truck and neither of them said a word on the short ride to the house.

They entered and with a finger to his lips, Hammond withdrew a small device from the pocket of his jacket, sweeping it around the house for bugs. George signaled when it appeared the rooms were clean.

Jack led them to the kitchen, still silent until he had two healthy glasses of good Scotch poured. “Okay, finish,” Jack demanded.

“It took two years before Doctor McKay was able to establish a wormhole to another planet using a computer program he designed. We’ve been sending teams through the Stargate for four years. The program spits out five to ten viable addresses a year. The teams sent through bring back technology. The problem is, we couldn’t get some of it to work,” George sighed in frustration. “That is, until a young Air Force Captain was transferred to the facility where the Stargate is kept. Turns out, he’s got a gene that allows the technology to work.”

“So, what’s the problem? Let him fly your damn ship back!” Jack exclaimed.

“I’d love to, Jack, but his expression of the gene isn’t strong enough to get all the technology to work, and that includes the ship. He can turn on some things in the ship, but he can’t get if off the ground,” George said regretfully.

“How do you know it’ll work for me? “

“Once Captain Lorne made some of the tech work, we tested him six ways to Sunday and the gene was discovered. The military checked every service member for the gene and we came up empty. There were a few members with the gene, but Captain Lorne’s expression was the strongest we found. The search was then expanded to former service members. You and one other person tested off the charts,” Hammond explained. He didn’t add that Carson Beckett had been recruited to work on creating an artificial gene. He was close, but hadn’t yet accomplished the deed.

Jack knocked back half his Scotch, his mind working. “So, who else?” he asked, knowing that whatever name was mentioned, that person was already in place.

“Besides you?” Hammond replied. “John Sheppard. It was a stroke of luck that I’d already recruited him. He’s been working with the tech since we discovered he had the gene.”

Jack was curious. “Why did you recruit him? You put him in charge of your Math Department before the ink was dry on his doctorate.”

Hammond looked uncomfortable and his cheeks briefly flushed. “I would consider Doctor Sheppard one of the most natural mathematicians we’ve ever run across. And given John’s . . . ah, taste, it was thought that he might be one of the few mathematicians that would be able to work with Doctor McKay. Rodney is a brilliant man, but not everyone is equipped to deal with his personality. ”

“And then there’s me,” Jack said bitterly.

“And then there’s you,” Hammond remarked gently. “We already had Sheppard, but you were running the winery, and then there was Daniel. There wasn’t anything we could offer to entice you into the program. That short list I mentioned? Let’s just say they aren’t above using whatever means necessary to achieve their goals. They’ve been clamoring for your participation in the program since it was discovered you had the gene. I kept you out of it as long as I could, Jack. That might have been a mistake.”

Jack didn’t respond immediately. He turned all the information over in his head for a few minutes before coming up with the inevitable and horrifying conclusion. “Sean and Elise didn’t have an accident, did they?”

“I don’t know, Jack.” George stood and retrieved a manila envelope from the back of his jeans. He opened it and spread its contents in front of Jack. Sweat broke out on his brow knowing that if he’d read this man wrong he was putting his daughter and granddaughters in serious danger.

There were several photos in front of Jack; photos of two young girls and a woman who was obviously their mother. The photos captured the woman and children going about their daily lives; being dropped off at school, playing in the front yard, grocery shopping, and going to the bank. A note, written in block letters said ‘It’s a dangerous world.’

“My daughter and her two girls. I received this a few weeks ago, along with instructions to do whatever it took to get you onboard or it would be taken out of my hands. The implication was clear that if I didn’t play ball, my family would be harmed. I don’t think I have to tell you they would have no compunction about using Autumn and Wynter to get you to cooperate,” George remarked.

“Do you know who?” Jack growled. It was no coincidence that Sean had written the same phrase in his letter to Jack.

“You know about the NID?” George asked.

Snorting, Jack replied, “They’re responsible for half the missions I ran in Special Ops.”

“Things have spiraled out of control since we got the Stargate working. There’s now a rogue element working under the auspices of the NID, headed by Robert Kinsey, Frank Simmons, and Bill Stephens, that we believe are responsible for the current situation,” George stated, throwing out the names of three men highly placed within various government organizations.

“Is the President working with them?” Jack demanded.

“The President has been working hard to neutralize this rogue element, but he hasn’t been able to touch these three. May I remind you the President has three young children?” Hammond told him evenly.

If the President’s family had been threatened, Jack knew he would have no choice but to cooperate. They’d eliminate anyone he was close to in order to get him to do their bidding. His hand was being forced, but Kinsey, Simmons, and Stephens had just made a deadly enemy.

“Assassination?” Jack asked bluntly.

“It’s been looked at, but it’s also felt that if all three aren’t taken down together, it would be pointless. They are rarely together, and are never together in public. They meet once a month in the homes of people funneling money their way in order to receive favorable treatment and have an in when government contacts are handed out. So far, we haven’t been able to get anyone close enough to give us advance notice,” he listed what had been done in the thus far, futile attempt to shut them down.

“Daniel stays out of it,” Jack announced.

Looking uncomfortable, Hammond shook his head slightly. “It’s felt that Doctor Jackson’s linguistic skills might be needed. He’s been working on translating the language associated with the ship. Doctors McKay and Sheppard will also be needed.”

“Does Daniel know any of this?” Jack demanded.

“No. I wanted to talk to you first. I plan on letting them know today. I suggest the four of you discuss the situation among you. You don’t have much time before you’re given no choice at all,” George advised. He picked up his Scotch and threw it back, standing when he was done. “I’ll send them back here after I talk with them.”

“Do you want a lift to the parking lot?”

“Thank you, but I think I’ll walk.” Jack escorted him to the door and stood there watching him walk down the road. He looked over at the vineyard, spread before him and a fierce determination to get his life back filled him. He would do whatever it took to regain the peace he had lost within the last hour.

Digging his phone out of his pocket, Jack called Winsome asking her to pick the girls up from the college and to keep them overnight. He had to go into Southold and he promised to drop off clothing.

Jack quickly showered, washing the good, clean dirt from his body, wondering if he would ever again have the opportunity to do so. He pushed the thought firmly out of his mind, feeling his throat tighten up with emotion. He emerged from the shower, dressed, and packed a small bag for the twins.

Once he assured Winsome that there was nothing to worry about, Jack paid a visit to his lawyer’s office, insisting that his business was urgent and couldn’t be put off. Marty was used to a slower pace of business, always looking out for his clients, and encouraging them to take a few days to think through whatever decisions they were making. Jack didn’t have the time for that right now. He secured Marty’s promise that his will would be updated and ready within the week.

Jack then went home to wait for his lover and their friends.

~0~

Daniel’s car pulled up followed by John and Rodney’s truck. Daniel and John looked pale and pissed. McKay collected his briefcase and looked guilty. Daniel was carrying three pizza boxes.

By unspoken agreement, the four men went directly to the kitchen to eat. They ate quickly and in near silence, all of them lost in private thoughts. They cleaned up just as quickly and quietly; anxious to get to the reason they were here.

Jack informed them that the twins would be spending the night at Winsome’s house to allow them time to discuss the situation they found themselves in. He saw Daniel breathe a sigh of relief.

Jack eyed Rodney. “Why don’t you start, McKay. I have a feeling you have more information than any of us”

Rodney met Jack’s stare, refusing to back down. He hardly knew where to begin. “I’ve been working for the United States government in one form or another since I’m sixteen. They financed my doctorates because once I came to their attention they weren’t about to let me go,” he started.

“Early on they allowed me to work on a joint project in Russia because they wanted to test my loyalty. I guess I passed their test because I’ve been working on classified projects ever since. I know you’re pissed right now, Jack, but it was only a matter of time before someone got the Stargate to work.”

“This isn’t about blame, McKay. I just want to know everything you know. I found out today that my cousin and his wife were killed by my government just so they could use Autumn and Wynter as leverage to gain my cooperation,” Jack bit out, finally releasing some of the anger and fear he had been holding in.

Rodney briefly explained how it wasn’t until Daniel translated the coverstone and symbols that he’d realized what the device was. “I’m not sure there’s another linguist in the world who could have figured it out. Daniel’s really the person responsible for opening the Stargate.”

He gave the three men a brief scientific explanation as to how the Stargate worked; detailing the program he’d devised to get addresses.

He then proceeded to blow his non-disclosure agreement to hell and back. “I’ve been working closely with a woman named Samantha Carter. She’s a Captain in the Air Force and is nearly as brilliant as I am. A lot of what I know about the day-to-day business of the facility comes from her. Sam’s been concerned about the disproportionately high death and injury rate of the teams going through the Stargate, among other things.”

“What sort of injuries and how are they dying?” Jack asked. If he had to go through this thing he needed as much intel as possible.

“Lots of different things. They’re sending teams through without fully checking out the planets, so you’ve got insect bites, severe allergic reactions to flora, animal attacks, attacks by the indigenous populations, and alien technology blowing up,” Rodney ticked off the causes as Sam had told him.

John reached out to touch his hand. “Why aren’t they taking more precautions?” Knowing about the tech and the Stargate didn’t mean he knew about how sloppy the missions were being run.

“The three bozos running things don’t give a shit. The one who shows up regularly to give the orders is a real piece of work. They only want the tech, even if the teams have to steal it. I get the stuff no one else can figure out. They’ve got teams of scientists, both military and civilian, trying to reverse engineer shit and they plan on giving the tech to their buddies so they can claim it as their own and make a fortune once it’s released to the general public,” he said with disgust.

“What about the guy supposedly in charge of the facility that George us told about? Landry? Can’t he do anything?” Daniel wanted to know. His association with Jack and John colored his opinion about the military. They were honorable men and he assumed that truth held for the vast majority of service members.

“Hank Landry is in nominally in charge of the facility, and he’s a decent man, but he’s got no real power. He also has a family. I have no doubts these men are capable of having people killed to get what they want. If they’ve used that threat with Hammond, why not use the same tactics on Landry?”

“How is this Captain getting you this information?” John inquired. It was one thing to discuss classified stuff when you were in the know, but the stakes had gotten significantly higher in the last few hours.

“Encrypted email,” Rodney replied. “We designed the program together. The only other person in the world who has even half a chance of decoding it is Zelenka and I trust him with my life.”

Daniel stood to put up coffee, asking, “You mentioned indigenous people. Has this Sam told you anything about that?”

Sighing, Rodney wished he didn’t have to answer this particular question. It wasn’t pretty. “About three quarters of the planets they’ve gone to have been empty. Buildings standing, or huts, but no people. The people they _have_ found appear human, and based on DNA, they are human, but living at a low level of technology. The most advanced culture they’ve found so far would be equivalent to about 1300 CE.”

“Do they know where the people have gone?” Daniel questioned.

“No, it’s as though they’ve all vanished into thin air. Some of the team leaders have been asking for anthropologists or linguists to be added to offworld teams, but that’s a lost cause. Their standing orders are to grab tech and go,” Rodney said, trying to give the men a full picture about the situation at Stargate Command.

He inhaled deeply and continued, “There was a mission six months ago where a team tried to do just that and they were all killed. When the team didn’t come back, two teams were sent in after them, and they . . . they killed an entire village. Men, women, children. All told, about 250 people. They brought back the bodies of the first team and several of the villagers. Two of the men involved in that fuck-up have since committed suicide,” he said bleakly.

John rose to get his husband a cup of coffee, stroking his back on the way over to the coffee pot. Rodney smiled at the silent support. The technology taken from that planet had been sent to Rodney. Having no information either from the inhabitants of the village it had come from, or any translations from the altar it had been mounted on, he had tried to decipher its use.

It turned out to be a device that controlled weather and his fiddling with it had caused severe tornados throughout the Midwest. Tornados that killed over 500 people and caused several thousand more to lose their homes.

Rodney spent the next 72 hours hopped up on government-supplied amphetamines fixing the problem. He insisted the device be returned to its planet of origin to be studied further.

The device was returned and as a team of scientists was being put together to study the device offworld, he hacked into the computers that controlled the Stargate and erased the address, making it look like a computer glitch. He was forced to go to Colorado where he and Sam spent the next week pretending to try and recover the address. Sam had caught on immediately, but had kept her mouth shut.

He was then forced into a meeting with Kinsey and was told that if he ever had tech taken offworld again, John would be kidnapped, tortured and killed. With the exception of the threat made against John, Rodney had confessed the whole sorry story to his husband, expecting to be kicked out. John held him as he cried, murmuring words of love until he’d fallen asleep.

They had both been careful since then, approaching the technology with new eyes. Rodney had put aside a number of items that he could have figured out given some time as incomprehensible. He refused to be responsible for more deaths, or for John’s death.

“Tell me about the tech,” Jack requested. He knew there was more the story Rodney had just told, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He thought if it would affect the mission to recover the ship Rodney would’ve said something. Whatever happened had obviously affected the usually blustering scientist.

Recovering his equilibrium, Rodney outlined some of his conclusions. “It’s strange stuff and it’s obvious that most of the tech was made by two different groups of people. Some of the stuff brought back almost looks like jewelry. It’s usually found hidden inside temples and the teams just smash apart the altars or the walls to grab it. We can’t get any of it to work at all and we have no idea what it’s supposed to do.

“The other tech works or starts working, once Lorne or John initializes it, sort of like starting up a computer. We’ve had more luck with that stuff, but it’s harder to find. I’ve been able to figure out the energy signal this tech puts out and the teams go in, see if they can locate the signal and start searching. A lot of this tech is buried in underground tunnels or is sealed off in caves. Every now and then, the teams will find the odd piece or two just lying around,” Rodney finished. This tech was elegant and simple in design, yet worked through complex methods. Rodney loved working with it, often getting lost in the puzzle of trying to reverse engineer it and adapt it for other purposes.

“Weapons?” Jack and John spoke at the same time.

“I know they’re bringing back weapons because Sam told me, but I haven’t been sent anything along those lines,” Rodney replied. Given what one of the weapons did, he figured they didn’t trust him not to zap his colleagues and make the bodies disappear.

Until Jack saw the technology or weapons for himself he was unable to make any judgment about how it might affect the mission to retrieve the ship. “Have you found out anything about Kinsey, Simmons, or Stephens that could help us get the upper hand here?”

“Why would you think I‘d do anything so dangerous? I’m a genius, but I’m not nuts,” Rodney said, looking slightly befuddled. It was a brilliant disguise that would have fooled most people.

But Jack was not most people. “You’re a scientist, Rodney. You gather information. You’re careful and methodical, you’re trained to observe, analyze, and then theorize. You mentioned that Captain Carter was unhappy about the death and injury rate, you’ve told us Landry has no power, and that three bozo’s were in charge.

“I’m a stagiest and a tactician, or I used to be. Like you, I’m trained to observe and analyze, extrapolating data from any given situation to come up with solutions. I’m also very good at reading people. So, what have you found out?” Jack finished with a small grin.

Rodney returned Jack’s smile, then found Daniel’s eyes. “Huh! So not just a pretty face?”

Daniel laughed. “No, not just a pretty face.” Jack colored slightly at the implied compliment.

Rodney reached for his briefcase and retrieved a number of thumb drives. He handed out three to each man. “Several months ago, Kinsey made a rather specific threat against John,” he began.

“What? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” John demanded.

“It was senseless for both of us to worry, John,” he answered.

“We’ll be discussing this at length later,” John promised.

Jack snickered at the pissy look on John’s face. “What sort of information are we looking at here?”

“The kind that can get you killed,” he bluntly stated. “ I started hacking into their computers right after my meeting with Kinsey and found that they each had several user names. Most people are astonishingly stupid when it comes to how their tech works and these three are no exception. They don’t know that most of what you do online can be found even years later.

“They use both public and private computers all over the country, communicating on public forums and I’ve been able to trace every communication within the last two years. They use a code that was ridiculously easy to break detailing the people they’ve had problems with and how they’ve handled those problems. They never come right out and say it, but I’m pretty sure they’ve had some of those problems killed, Jack, usually people who have started to question their ethics, or who get in their way.

They’ve also stolen approximately three quarters of a billion dollars from the government, based on their bank records and offshore accounts. Once I found this information, I gave thumb drives to four people in the event anything happened to me or John,” Rodney detailed his investigation, not noticing how pale the three other men had become. It felt good to finally share this burden of information.

“I’m impressed that you’re still alive, McKay. I’m assuming you’ve covered your tracks,” Jack threw out into the charged atmosphere. Based on John’s scowl, there would be more than one discussion when they got home.

“Please, my instinct for self protection and survival is extraordinarily strong, ‘ he bragged a bit. “The thumb drives also include every bit of personal information on these bastards I could find.”

“What should we do with these?” Daniel asked.

“Give them to people you absolutely trust, preferably those without family ties,” Rodney instructed.

“Why haven’t you used this information?” Daniel threw out.

“Because it takes a very long time to investigate and prosecute crimes. In the meantime, they’re out and John and I meet with a tragic accident or worse,” he said cynically.

The four men sat in silence for a few moments contemplating Rodney’s words and their situation. Jack spared a thought for Sean and Elise, thinking they had died to satisfy a petty power play. It was the same mindset that allowed the Soviets to make thousands of pounds of smallpox - - after the disease had been eradicated; only to have it all disappear into thin air once the Soviet Union had fallen. It was the mindset that said governments had to have enough nuclear weaponry to destroy the world fifty or eighty times over.

Why control a man’s behavior with one hostage to fate if you can use three or twenty. It was the type of power play that men who start with questionable morals indulge in when they get power. They become monsters. History was littered with them. All four men knew this - - knew they would be forced into doing the bidding of those monsters shortly. It did no good to rage against it. They would do what good men always did . . . they would stand up to it as best they could and try to carve out some happiness.

“So, we’re gonna do this thing?” Daniel broke the silence.

“I don’t see that we have any choice, Daniel,” Jack remarked.

“If they had asked me, I probably would have said yes as long as Rodney was allowed to go,” John pointed out.

Nodding his head in agreement, Rodney said, “I’ve been asking to go through the Stargate since the first wormhole was opened.”

They had asked John if he wanted to go on one or two missions a year once it was discovered he had the gene, but he declined when he was told that Rodney wouldn’t be offered the same opportunity. Even with McKay’s unique skill set, he was deemed worthless on an offworld team; he wasn’t a soldier and he didn’t have the gene.

“What about you, Daniel, you ever wanted to go through the Stargate?” Jack questioned.

Daniel stared at Jack. He knew this was a way to confirm whether or not he knew about the Stargate before today. He had known. Rodney was right, he was responsible for figuring out what the symbols indicated, but he’d never seen it operational. Like Rodney, he was deemed worthless on an offworld team.

“I might have wanted to once. But now? - - There’s you - - the girls and our friends and the winery. I love our life, Jack. I could have lived my whole life without going through the Stargate. I might have wondered, but I never would have regretted not going,” Daniel said softly, his blue eyes holding Jack’s.

Satisfied with that answer, Jack turned to other matters. He had Rodney tell them everything he had learned about the three men who were pulling their strings. He wanted to know where they lived, details about their families, and every nugget of information that would allow him to develop a psychological profile. Jack was a big believer in knowing his enemy and it had never mattered this much before.

It was eventually decided that they needed at least a week, and maybe a little more time, to wrap up business and make arrangements for their absence. Except for Rodney, they needed to get their thumb drives to people they trusted, Jack and Daniel needed to arrange for child care, and John had to find someone to take care of the horses. Hammond was taking care of covering their classes and would see to the smooth running of their departments while they were gone.

They covered every point they could think of and then Jack called Hammond. “Tell those fuckers we’ll be in Colorado Springs sometime next week.”

~0~

Five days later, Jack called Teal’c and asked him to stop by the house for breakfast.

While waiting for Teal’c to show up, Jack made a list of everything that still needed to be done. He folded it into his pocket just as Teal’c knocked at the door. Motioning the big man into the kitchen, the two men sat. “T, something’s come up and Daniel and I will be away on a business trip,” he proceeded without preamble. He didn’t have the time for easing into this conversation.

“How long do you plan to be gone, O’Neill?” Teal’c queried.

Scrubbing his face, Jack said, “Hopefully, not more than a week or two. But, it could be longer.”

“I see. Do you have any instructions for me?”

Jack raised his eyes to meet Teal’c’s for the first time. He hated that he could be putting his friend’s life in danger. Jack fiddled with the thumb drive for a moment before putting it in front of Teal’c. “I want you to put this in a safe place. The information on here is dangerous, Teal’c. If - - if Daniel and I are gone for longer than three months, get this to a newspaper.”

Inclining his head, Teal’c studied Jack, giving nothing away. “O’Neill, if you and Doctor Jackson are in trouble, please allow me to assist you.”

“Not this time, big guy,” Jack clapped Teal’c’s back. “You should know that I’ve made plans to take care of you, Nicola, and Winsome.” Jack stood, signaling the end of the meeting, hoping he hadn’t signed Teal’s death warrant.

Jack grabbed his briefcase and left the house with Teal’c. He had two more stops before he and Daniel left for Colorado Springs. Jack had sent one of the thumb drives to Charlie Kawalsky, carefully hidden in one of the bottles of wine he’d sent. He had used their old code to let him know. Charlie had been absent from that last mission, because his mother had died and he was attending the funeral. At the time, Jack had been devastated, both at Lidia’s death and his inability to attend the services. He had loved Lidia like a mother. Jack had always been grateful his friend had not been with him for that last fucked up mission, and it felt like he was tempting fate by sending him the thumb drive now, but he had to protect Autumn and Wynter, and everyone else he loved.

The other thumb drives were spread across the country and the world. Zelenka had been given one weeks before. Rodney had sent another one to Russia, to a pair of married scientists. During his time in Russia, he had been involved with both of them. All three of them had spent the long cold Russian nights screwing and trying to stay warm. Hammond had one drive and Bill Lee, working out of Area 51 had another.

Daniel gave one of his thumb drives to Robert Rothman. Daniel had hired Robert two years ago and he hadn’t changed much in those two years. He still didn’t get people, but he was a good friend nevertheless. A book with one of the drives carefully hidden within had been sent to his grandfather in Oregon; a note on the title page, written in ancient Mayan alerted the old man to what the book truly contained. His last thumb drive went to a foster brother he had stayed in touch with, and who was now a homicide detective in New York City.

John had paid a visit to the family estate in Virginia, claiming the need to clarify an issue on a recent consulting job. While there, John made a point of visiting the stables and Red Jennings, a man who had kept many of John’s secrets in the past. He was happy to keep this one as well. Red informed him that his son and assistant, Jake, was due for a vacation and he would be grateful if John put him up. John hugged the older man tightly, whispering a raspy thanks. He had been in the process of hiring someone to take care of his horses, but was worried that he didn’t know any of the men he was interviewing. Jake had been a friend and John trusted him.

John drove into Washington, DC, where the headquarters of Sheppard, International was located. He sent a well-sealed interoffice envelope to Dean Chapman who now headed up the legal department in the London office. They’d had a yearlong affair when John first got home. On the way back to the estate, John stopped at Georgetown University to see his graduate advisor, Marlene Thomas, a tall imposing woman in her sixties. She took the thumb drive and locked it in her safe asking no questions.

Jack gave his last thumb drive to Marty, thanking him again for his taking care of his recent legal work so quickly. He signed wherever Marty pointed and refused to answer any questions. Jack left with his updated will and the other documents Marty had worked on and headed for his last stop.

He found Winsome at home alone just as he had intended. She was surprised to see him and welcomed him in, putting out a plate of cookies and starting a pot of coffee. Jack felt a sudden burn in the back of his eyes when he thought about how he’d always been welcome in this house. “Have I ever told you how much I love you, Brad, and Zakia?” he asked.

“Not in so many words, but we’ve always known. Now, spill, Jack, because you’re starting to worry me.” Winsome told him in her usual forthright manner.

Jack removed the papers from his briefcase. “I need a favor, Winsome and I know you’re going to have a ton of questions that I won’t be able to answer. I need for you and Brad to take Autumn and Wynter for a week or two,” he said, turning the documents he held so she could see them.

“I’ll be happy to take them, Jack, but can you please explain this to me?” she requested in a small voice.

“This makes you and Brad the girl’s guardians and the other document is my updated will. It gives you, Teal’c, and Nicola part ownership of the winery,” he explained.

“No,” she protested, handing him back the documents.

“Winsome,” Jack said gently. “Please.”

“You’re in trouble, aren’t you?” Winsome demanded.

“A little. Through no fault of my own. But I promise you; I’m going to fix it. I needed to do this so my mind is clear,” he said gripping her hands. “I can’t do what I need to do if I’m worried about Autumn and Wynter.”

Winsome suddenly started crying. “You’re scaring me, damn you.”

“I know and I’m sorry. Will you take the kids?” Jack persisted, needing to be sure that Autumn and Wynter would have a loving family surrounding them if he and Daniel didn’t get home.

“You know I will, Jack,” she wept. “But you’re gonna be making this up to me for years,” she promised.

“I’ll be happy to, Winsome.” He was looking forward to getting home and making this up to everyone he loved.

Jack left, leaving her a credit card and telling her he’d drop the children and their clothing off tomorrow. He and the others were not leaving for two days, but Jack and Daniel wanted to spend one last night together.

~0~

Jack, Daniel, John, and Rodney arrived at Peterson before the sun rose. They were whisked to Cheyenne Mountain and to the infirmary, where two stone faced doctors took vials of blood and gave each of them a thorough examination, Rodney loudly complaining about the violation of Canadian citizens.

When the doctors released them, they were escorted into a small briefing room where General Landry was waiting for them. “Gentlemen,” he welcomed them.

The men seated themselves and allowed Jack to speak for them. “General. I’d like to go on record that Daniel and I are being coerced into this mission through the threat of violence against our children. I don’t particularly care that someone’s holding your leash, we’re gonna do this the way I say.”

Landry had the grace to blush. “I see. Where do you want to start?”

“I’d like to start by exposing this entire program, but I’ll take full access to the mission reports and personnel files. We want to read them and then I’ll let you know how I plan on running the mission,” Jack demanded. He wasn’t about to trust anyone else to keep his lover and their friends safe.

“Mr. Stephens will be briefing you first,” Landry stated, distaste writ large upon his face. “You’ll be allowed you to run the mission, along with Colonel Edwards.” Landry was glad Jack insisted on taking the lead for this mission. He had more experience in the field than most of the personnel assigned to the SGC. He had been unsuccessful in every fight he’d waged to get more intel on the planets he was sending the men and women under his command to.

The General picked up the phone on the wall and asked for all mission reports to be delivered. “I’ll leave you to it, gentlemen. You can call when you’re ready for something to eat,” he instructed. “I’ll send in Stephens,” he said, leaving them to wait alone.

John and Jack exchanged a look. “That was different,” John remarked. He’d never seen a General back down like that.

Before Jack could answer him, the door was thrown open aggressively.

“Gentleman, I’m Bill Stephens and I’m here to give you the facts of life. I don’t give a fuck who you think you know, or who you think you’ll expose this program to. The fact is, it won’t happen no matter what you may think” the average looking man spit out as soon as he strode into the briefing room.

He set his laptop down, connected a power cable and flipped it open, pressing a few buttons. A series of photos appeared on the hanging screen behind him. Photos of Autumn and Wynter O’Neill, Jeannie and Madison Miller, Sabrina Sheppard, and Zakia Moore-Simon. “Do I have your attention?”

Stomping down hard on his anger, Jack saw Daniel, Rodney and John look at him for direction. Pretending a casual air that he was far from feeling, Jack said, “Why don’t you just say whatever the fuck you have to say and let us get on with planning the mission.”

“I admire pragmatism Mr. O’Neill. I just wanted to give you all a little food for thought and an - - let’s say an incentive to make sure that ship gets back to us in one piece.

“All of the people on the screen behind me have the gene we need. Until Beckett comes up with a way to duplicate it, we now have plenty of people we can use. And for use, you should read experiment on,” he smirked.

Both John and Rodney hid their shock. They had of course been told once it was discovered how the technology worked that John had the gene and they had been surprised when they found out Jack’s expression of the gene was just as strong as John’s. They just hadn’t anticipated that the children they loved would also have the gene.

Stephens had just made a huge mistake, even if he didn’t realize it. Jack knew in that moment he was going to kill this man. It wouldn’t matter how long it took, he was going to destroy him, with no thought of his wife, or his children, or anything else.

“As it turns out, there are several clusters of gene carriers living throughout the United States and Canada, and most likely the world, bound together by circumstance or geography or both, as is the case here. Apparently blood calls to blood. We have no idea why the gene is more prevalent in females or why, when it is present in men, the men tend to be faggots,” he said insultingly.

“Must kill you to have to depend on a bunch of faggots, Stephens,” John remarked, his mild tone belying the rage coursing through his body. He was shaking with anger and wanted nothing more than to get his hands around Stephen’s neck. The only thing that held him back was the knowledge that he would soon be offworld; leaving the children he loved unprotected.

Rodney blatantly eyed Stephens up and down. “It probably has more to do with intelligence than sexuality. Unless it just skips stupid, ugly motherfuckers,” Rodney snapped, ignoring the fact that neither he, nor Daniel, had the gene.

Rodney wasn’t too far off the mark. The gene was often found among the brightest people in the country. Kinsey had started to put together a plan to begin identifying and testing the top one percent of school-aged children. It was all part of his ten-year plan.

Lips tightening in anger, Stephens glared at Rodney. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to piss me off?”

“Probably not, but it’s all you’ve left us,” Rodney admitted, maintaining his pretense of helpless scientist for the moment, but smiling inwardly. Jack’s take on this asshole was spot on.

“I’m glad you understand who’s holding all the cards here, Doctor McKay.”

Jack smiled unpleasantly. “You have us Stephens, and for the moment we don’t have any options open to us, but when this is all said and done, I’m going to kill you.”

Stephens laughed. “Better men than you have tried, O’Neill.”

“Oh, I won’t be trying, I’ll be successful,” he promised.

“Did you have an actual point to make, or did you just come to threaten us some more?” Daniel asked conversationally.

Gritting his teeth, Stephens replied. “I just wanted you to understand that fucking up is not an option. I want that ship here, with no excuses.”

“And, of course, you’ve planned for every contingency that could _possibly_ pop up on another planet?” Jack asked sarcastically. “You’ve checked the flora and the fauna, and of course the aliens, right? Not to mention the insects and the geological stability of the planet.”

Looking flustered, Stephens barked, “You won’t be on the planet long enough for any of that shit to matter.”

Jack turned to John. “That’s the problem with wannabes. They think that running missions is like doing an end run around some fat-assed politician. They’re too fucking stupid to understand that even if you plan for everything, there are still no guarantees. Guess being Kinsey’s bitch kills brain cells by the millions.”

Snorting, John added, “Well, Jack, you can’t really blame the man. His head will be on the chopping block also if we can’t get the ship back. Stephens is a piece of prime grade pussy, afraid to chip his manicured nails.”

The four men shared a laugh at John’s appraisal, laughing harder when Stephens starting sputtering at the insults. Jack stopped laughing abruptly. “We’ve heard the stats. A 35 percent death and injury rate is not acceptable, or it shouldn’t be. But, then again, it’s not your ass on the line is it?” Jack shouted, slamming his hand on the table.

“So if fucking up is not an option, I suggest you come with us,” Jack ground out. It was his turn to eye Stephens up and down disdainfully. “But, I doubt you will, you useless sack of shit. Men like you? You think you’re too important to get your hands dirty, so you depend on men like me to do the jobs you don’t have the balls for.

“For my part, I’d like to get all four of us home in one piece, as well as the men going with us. I’ll try and get your fucking ship back, but if it comes down to the ship or a man, I’ll be going for the man. And if you think threatening us is the way to go, I’ll tell you right now to shove the ship up your ass and I’ll find a way to bring you down. You have a wife and four children, not to mention siblings with children, and I believe your parents are still alive,” Jack spat at Stephens, letting his own threat hang in the air.

“How dare you?” Stephens shouted.

“How dare you?” Daniel demanded. “We already said we’d take the mission. Apparently you’ve projected your own lack of integrity onto us. General Landry, are you listening?” Daniel walked out of the room, demanding to speak to Landry. Rodney followed him, needing to get to Samantha so she could send an updated message to Zelenka regarding the threat to the children he loved.

“Are we done here, prime grade? ‘Cause if we are, John and I have a mission to plan,” Jack dismissed him.

Stephens angrily left the room, pissed that his method of intimidation had been used against him. Usually, trotting out threats to kids had people rolling over, panting to do whatever had been asked of them. As soon as Beckett had the artificial gene ready, there would no longer be a need for O’Neill or Sheppard.

No one talked to Bill Stephens like that and got away with it. Right now, they needed O’Neill and Sheppard, but once the merry band of queers made it back from the planet, well, it was a dangerous world. And he would make sure they all suffered before they died.

~0~

The personnel files and mission reports were delivered and the four men spent the next seven hours reading and taking notes. It was just as Rodney told them; the teams were being sent in cold. They had plenty of ordnance, but little intel. And there were lots of injuries and deaths, the vast majority of which could have been prevented.

They paid particular attention to the mission in which the ship had been found. The Stargate on 5PX-008 was on a stone platform in what was assumed to have once been a temple based on the four crumbling columns and the remains of one wall. It was located two klicks into an old growth forest. As per SOP, a scout was sent ahead. The scout reported a small town five klicks up a well-traveled road. It was just after dawn and the Stargate was unguarded.

As the team began walking to the town Sergeant Garcia, suddenly overcome by severe stomach cramps, requested five minutes to relieve himself. He walked into the brush and 50 yards in found the ship, mostly covered by the surrounding brush. He immediately radioed Colonel Edwards, who sent Captain Lorne in after him. He waited the few minutes for Sergeant Henderson to get back and together they joined the rest of their team.

It took all four of them hacking away with knives to uncover the entrance to the small, oddly shaped ship. Based on its size, it could easily be flown through the Stargate. It opened for Lorne and the team went in. He sat in what appeared to be the pilot’s seat, touching what looked like joy sticks and various areas on the console, lighting up a few systems and getting a couple of schematics. He tried to get the ship started to no avail.

Edwards called a halt to his efforts after ten minutes. The team exited the craft, covered it back up and double-timed it back to the Stargate and then to the SGC. Jack handed the report to Rodney, who quickly read it.

“Why do you think they gave up so quickly?” Jack inquired as Rodney handed the folder to John.

“No sense in staying. Lorne could either make it fly or he couldn’t. My guess is the longer they stayed, the greater the chance of discovery. Better to cut your losses and come back for it with someone with a better chance of acquiring the ship,” Rodney said around a mouthful of meatloaf that had been delivered while he was reading.

Jack considered his answer and nodded silently to himself. If the inhabitants of the planet hadn’t yet discovered the ship, why bring it to their attention. The most important bit of information gleaned from the report was that the ship was close to the Stargate. That made it somewhat less dangerous. With any luck they could get in and get off the planet very quickly.

It sounded too easy.

~0~

The men were shown into VIP rooms and they went gratefully. It had been a long day and tomorrow looked to be more of the same. Jack and John had gone through the personnel files and had picked four men in addition to the team that found the ship.

Rodney also wanted Captain Carter to accompany them. If anything needed to be repaired on the ship, he would need someone else who was familiar with the technology. Daniel was pretty much on his own. No other linguist in the world matched his skills, or had had access to the language. Jack had chosen Airman Ryan who had a background in sociology and political science to back up Daniel in case contact with the indigenous population became unavoidable.

~0~

The next day was long and tiring. Before breakfast, General Landry greeted Jack and John with the news that they were being reactivated for the duration of the mission at their former ranks. Neither man was thrilled, but recognized the wisdom in the decision. It would allow for a cohesive team and a clear-cut chain of command.

Jack and John met with Colonel Edwards and the three men put together a plan, trying to take into account every variable they could think of. Edward’s offworld experience was helpful as Jack questioned him to account for every situation the three men could think of.

Stephens was on their back, trying to speed up the planning, wanting the team to get through the Stargate and get back with the ship. Once McKay, Carter, and the other scientists reverse engineered it, Kinsey would sell the technology piece by piece to his contacts in the aviation field, and the money would be nearly endless. Kinsey intended to make a bid for the White House and Stephens was more than happy to ride his coattails to wealth and power. It wasn’t a bad position to be in, considering his very average, middleclass roots.

But, much to his annoyance, Jack would turn a cold blank stare his way whenever he entered the meeting, refusing to talk until he left the room. It didn’t prevent him from listening and he was sure O’Neill knew it, if the rude comments and laughter at his expense once he left was any indication. He would sit in an adjacent room, quivering in anger, making a list. Soon he would be untouchable and able to turn his attention to anyone who’d ever dismissed him.

It was late when Jack’s meeting with John and Edwards ended, but they’d gotten a lot accomplished. Edwards had a great deal of confidence in his team, and the other personnel who would be going with them. Captain Cater, Lieutenant Brooks, Airman Ryan, Captain Mansfield and Major Coburn were all known to him and with the exception of Carter, he’d been in the field with them.

It was decided to bring the entire team together the next day for an overview of their discussion today and to allow questions and suggestions for the upcoming mission. Although the original mission to 5PX-008 had been a cakewalk, no one on the team thought Jack was being overcautious. If they had, he would have replaced them. He knew how things could turn to shit in the blink of an eye and he couldn’t get the 35 percent death and injury rate out of his mind.

The timetable they’d agreed upon called for the meeting with the entire team, with packing for the mission to take place the day after. They would go through the Stargate two days after that, allowing for some team bonding and rest. There was a small disagreement over how much C-4 to take. Edwards thought Sheppard’s idea of an adequate amount was excessive. John refused to back down and offered to carry the extra C-4 he wanted to take.

Rodney and Sam were both vocal about the equipment needed to go through the Stargate . They had no idea about what shape the ship was in and what sort of repairs might be required. As with John’s attitude about the C-4, they both felt it was better to err on the side of caution.

Jack insisted everyone going through the Stargate go fully kitted, and he wanted everyone to carry extra ammo. Daniel had taken him aside and told him he was freaking the team out just a little. Jack’s response was to remind Daniel that a 35 percent death and injury rate meant that between himself, Daniel, John, and Rodney, one of them would be injured or killed. As far as he was concerned, there was no such thing as too prepared and he’d take a tactical nuke if he could. Daniel kissed him and repeated the stats to anyone else who brought their concerns to him.

They had prepared as best they could. Jack hoped it would all prove to be a waste of time; that they would be off the planet in a matter of hours, that the mission would be boring, that he would end up looking like an ass. Better that than losing Daniel, or anyone else.

The night before the mission, the entire team ate an early dinner together. Jack dismissed them, ordering them to get an early night. For most of them, sleep would not come easily; Jack’s attention to detail and preparation made them all realize how little concern had been show for their individual safety thus far. His paranoia made them understand the potential dangers in ways they hadn’t considered before. Their respect for and loyalty to Jack ratcheted up several more notches.

The four friends gathered in the VIP room shared by Jack and Daniel. All of them felt a longing for home and family. They had discussed calling, deciding against it. None of them thought they would be able to take that final step if they heard the voices of home, calling them back to love and friendship. They also weren’t sure they’d be allowed to call and didn’t want anger to dilute their focus.

They spent an hour talking, intent on the upcoming mission. They didn’t talk about the winery or the farm or the college. They speculated on what they might find and the wonder of travelling to another world.

They soon ran out of conversation, taking it turn to sigh and fidget. After a few minutes, John stood and took Rodney’s hand, saying goodnight. Both couples nestled into bed, silently holding each other, all of them lost in their own thoughts.

~0~

The event horizon whooshed out, and then settled into what looked like a wall of water. Sam had seen it before, but had never been allowed to get close to it. Like Rodney, her skill set was considered too vital to allow her offworld. Rodney felt a fissure of excitement; to see a stable wormhole was the culmination of many of his dreams. Daniel was nearly as excited. It had been his work that allowed this device to work. It had also been his attention to a seemingly meaningless detail that had given the SGC the all important symbol to get home. Jack had made John and Rodney memorize that symbol in the event they were somehow separated.

“Colonel O’Neill, you have a go,” Landry’s voice boomed over the speakers.

Jack inspected his team, satisfied with what he saw. All eyes were on him, waiting for his signal, and they looked calm but alert. “Okay, kids. Move out and keep your eyes open,” he ordered.

Edwards was on point, with Coburn and Carter next in line. Daniel and Rodney were tucked snugly in the center, with John and Lorne behind them. The other service members bracketed the two civilians. Jack had impressed the importance of protecting Daniel and Rodney to the exclusion of everything else. Supposedly Jack and John were the most vital members of this mission because of their gene, but neither of them saw it that way, nor did any member of the military.

The team stepped out of the wormhole, weapons raised. The air held a hint of frost and it smelled like snow. Daniel made a cursory visual examination of the remains of the building that had once stood here. He wasn’t surprised that the columns looked as though they belonged to an Egyptian temple. It was hard to tell because of the erosion, but the columns looked stacked, much as the Egyptian columns of Earth looked. He educated eyes could still see the grooves that had been worn down by time.

The team slowly made their way off the platform and down the steps, all of them hyper alert. The ship was a three-minute walk down the overgrown path. Jack signaled silently and they began to move.

They were nearly there when a high whining sound broke the stillness of the forest. They had just enough time see electricity arcing in the air, and then blackness descended.

~0~

Jack’s eyes flickered open, and he failed to hold in a groan at the pain in his head when he moved. He lay still, eyes now slit open. He felt bodies draped over him, and touched them until he assured himself that at least two of his team was still alive. Easing his way out from under them, he heard several others groaning as they regained consciousness.

His head rapidly clearing, Jack counted the still mostly prone bodies. The entire team was in the cell with him. He quickly found Daniel, and lightly slapped him awake. He could see Coburn and John following his example with the rest of the team. Soon, everyone was conscious, a few battling severe headaches.

They were in a large, bare, windowless room, bars replacing one of the walls. The room opened onto a hallway where other empty cells could be seen. The corridor seemed to go on for a long way and distant voices could be heard.

There were no guards that Jack could see. Their packs, weapons, equipment, watches, and other personal belongings had been stripped from them, but he used his bare hands to try the bars nevertheless. Slapping them in frustration, he went to sit by Daniel to wait.

Before long, three men appeared. They were dressed in chain mail and leather, with metal armor covering their chests. Two of the men had black tattoos of a snake within a circle within another circle. The third man also sported a cape and his tattoo, of identical design, was gold. They were all carrying long staffs that were obviously weapons of some kind. Tucked into their belts, was a device that looked like a sleek snake.

One of their jailers eyed the men and one woman in the cell coldly. “Which of you is the leader?”

Jack never had a chance to move as Edwards threw himself forward. “That would be me.”

“Come with me,” he was ordered by the man with the gold tattoo.

~0~

As there were no windows and their watches were gone, it was impossible to say how long Edwards was gone. Their best guess was five hours. He was thrown back into the cell, tear tracks on his face clearly visible, The next person was chosen at random. It was Sheppard.

After Sheppard was taken, they were given a meager meal. Rodney, in a panic about John and starting to feel the effects of hypoglycemia, was backed into a corner moaning. Jack, Daniel, and Carter put aside some of their food to give him. Once the other team members saw, they all followed suit. Rodney was the only person who ate well that night.

A short time after they ate, Edwards felt up to answering questions. “Did you learn anything useful?” Jack asked. He needed to know what happened to Edwards, but he was worried that Rodney was already near his breaking point and hearing what happened to Edwards might be the thing that broke him.

“It was the weirdest damn thing I’ve ever seen, Jack. The head guy’s name is Apophis and he’s dressed in some kind of ancient Egyptian outfit and surrounded by half naked kids and more of those big guys in armor,” Edwards started.

“Apophis,” Daniel choked.

“That mean something to you, Daniel?” Jack inquired.

“Yeah, I’d say so. I think we might be in a lot of trouble, Jack,” Daniel said in a rush.

“No shit, Daniel. Tell us something we don’t know!” Rodney insisted.

“Apophis, the Serpent God of ancient Egypt, also know as Apophis, the destroyer, the embodiment of evil and destruction. He wasn’t so much worshipped as he was feared,” Daniel recited by rote.

There wasn’t anything Jack could do without more information. “Go on, Edwards.”

Edwards closed his eyes, trying to recall what pain had driven from his mind. “I was led to a room. There were no windows and no chance for escape along the route,” he said, the routine of reporting to another officer allowing him to focus.

“Apophis was sitting on a throne like chair. He gave his goons an order and they used an instrument that was like a cattle prod on me. All I can tell you is hurt like a motherfucker,” Edwards continued.

“Did you give up Earth’s address?” Jack demanded.

“They didn’t ask me any questions. At all. Apophis gave another order and they dragged me in front of him. He had on this weird piece of jewelry, like the kind we’ve been bring back, and he aimed it at my head and all I felt was more pain. If he had asked, I might have given it up though, Jack,” Edwards confessed.

“What do you think he wanted?” Jack asked.

“Beats the shit outta me. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say I was entertainment. Like Apophis was showing everybody who was boss,” Edwards said scrubbing at his face.

“Entertainment, huh? Okay, listen up kids. This guy wants to prove he’s the boss? Let him feel that he’s totally in charge, which right now, he is. If you get taken, be respectful and don’t challenge him. Get through it as best as you can. We need to sit tight until we can find a way out of here, or we get rescued,” Jack ordered.

“That might be a problem, O’Neill,” Edwards interrupted. “I have no idea where we are. There’s no way we’re in the town Henderson spotted. The town was made up of small wooden buildings - - this place is huge and it’s definitely not made out of wood.”

Rage boiled through Jack and it was an effort for him to stuff it back down. Anger would not help him think his way out of their situation. “Right. . . of course. Just keep your eyes open and look for a way out. We’ll figure out where we are once we’re out of wherever this is.”

Jack went to kneel by Rodney. He seemed more in control of himself once he had eaten. His bright blue eyes looked hard and determined. “I’m sure John is okay,” Jack reassured him.

Rodney looked at him, his face flushed as he struggled with his emotions. “Killing Stephens won’t be enough for me. If we get through this, I’m going to destroy them all and everyone they care about.”

Jack patted his arm. He wasn’t sure they were getting out of this, but if Rodney could use his anger to hold it together, Jack wasn’t going to question it. Every person in this cell was going to have to dig down deep and find something that allowed them to keep going.

A short time later, John was thrown back in the cell and Lorne was taken. John was in worse shape than Edwards. He had a massive bruise that looked like it would cover half his face when it was fully developed, the eye on that side of his face, swollen shut. His lip was split and blood covered his chin.

Daniel and Rodney tended to him as best they could as Jack filled him in on Edwards’ report and what had been decided. He passed out soon after.

Lorne was returned and Garcia taken. Lorne came back in the same condition as Edwards and reported a nearly identical experience. When John had finally returned to consciousness, he admitted he might have been the tiniest bit uncooperative.

Jack snorted at this, repeating his orders.

Rodney got pissy. “If you weren’t already injured, Major, I’d probably kick your ass myself.”

They fell into a pattern. Every five hours or so, someone was returned and someone else taken. After Garcia, they took Carter, Rodney, Jack, Henderson, Ryan, Mansfield, Brooks, Coburn, and finally, Daniel.

When Rodney was taken, Jack assigned Lorne and Coburn to sit with John. His pulse was visibly throbbing and Jack could read the danger and menace in his eyes. At this moment, John was a stone-cold killer. Jack recognized the danger John now posed.

Should anything happen to McKay, John would kill as many of their guards as possible, even knowing it would be tantamount to suicide. This had always been seething right under the surface of the laid back face John normally showed the world.

John didn’t relax until Rodney was returned, subdued and quieter than usual, but alive and no more damaged than anyone else.

They had no way to track time, unless it was to mark how often someone was taken to be tortured. Apophis was playing games with them, feeding his monstrous ego. He wanted nothing from them but to see them suffer.

They had each been in for two sessions in more or less the same order and so they figured they had spent at least five days in captivity. Daniel was the last person taken and it seemed to Jack that he’d been gone for a lot longer than five hours. Jack had nearly given up on a rescue and was now focusing all his energy on an escape.

~0~

After Daniel was taken, their guards only came back to feed them. It was a new way to keep time as no one else was taken to face Apophis. Jack estimated it had been six days. Daniel had not been returned and Jack tried not to think of the many ways his lover could be dying or tortured. If he let himself feel, he wouldn’t get the rest of his team home.

John and Rodney never left his side. They silently supported him, putting aside their own fear and grief. Jack was ready to bargain his life to save his team. He only needed a plan or an opportunity.

~0~

Bra’tac looked over the now apathetic prisoners, noticing things his Jaffa had missed. He had been stuck five years on this planet, forced to continue serving Apophis and unable to quietly instill rebellion among the Jaffa of Chulak. These new slaves could help him. Nearly half of the Jaffa under him were ready to overthrow Apophis, but those that were still loyal were strong. If he failed, he and any who supported him, would be executed.

Bra’tac had spent long hours examining all the equipment the prisoners had brought with them. They had unusual items that almost matched the magic of the Goa’uld. He held some of the items on his person, intending to question the prisoners. He was most interested in the projectile weapons he had experimented with last night.

As he had been the one to escort them to Apophis to be tortured, he knew it would be an uphill battle to get them to trust him. But it was vital he do so. These prisoners might make freedom possible and Bra’tac had decided to gamble all on them.

He swept aside his cape, and strode confidently to the cell that held the newest captives. Nodding at one of the oldest among them, he selected Jack. Bra’tac respected the fact that the man looked him in the eyes. This was a warrior. Abruptly changing his mind, he decided to question this man privately.

Jack was glad he’d been chosen. Daniel had been gone for too long and Jack swung between hope and certainty he was dead. If Daniel was dead, Jack hoped it was his turn to die. He caught John’s eyes. “Take care of the girls for me. And if you get the chance, kill that asshole Stephens and his buddies.”

John nodded in agreement, briefly touching his right fist to his heart. He vowed if he made it out of here, he would do as Jack asked. But John was afraid it would be his turn to die soon enough unless the SGC mounted a rescue, something that was looking less and less likely as each day passed. Even knowing who was running the SGC, there was still a small part of him that had hope the Air Force would come for them.

Bra’tac led Jack in the opposite direction Daniel had been taken. The Jaffa with him were loyal to him and no hint of this meeting would reach Apophis. He brought Jack to his private quarters, where their gear had been delivered. “Sit. I am Bra’tac, First Prime of Apophis.”

“Jack O’Neill,” he introduced himself cautiously. He’d already had two torture sessions with the guy in the gold skirt and had been led to his pain by this man. He was devastated about Daniel’s continued absence, as well as tired, hungry, and anxious. He couldn’t get a read on Bra’tac, and this might be the only chance he was going to get. He needed to get himself together.

A single knock broke into the charged atmosphere of the room and Bra’tac opened the door partway, shielding Jack. He placed a tray of food in front of him. “Eat and regain your strength. I will talk.”

“Can you tell me about the man you took several days ago?” Jack asked, reaching for the food.

“Ah, the young scholar. He is well. Apophis seeks his knowledge. He is being fed and is not being tortured. Yet. Nor will he be unless he displeases Apophis. But, Jack O’Neill, sooner or later he _will_ displease Apophis,” Bra’tac informed him.

Hiding his elation and utter relief that Daniel was still alive and figuring he had nothing to lose, Jack asked, “Is there anything you can do to help us out?”

“I think we can aid each other, but you need some information and I need some instruction.”

Unable to contain his eagerness, Jack promised, “I’ll teach you anything you want to know.”

Bra’tac began by returning one of the watches that had been stripped from them. He wanted to know about its function. He went through most of the equipment, the cameras and scientific measuring devices, their communication system, Daniel’s tape recorder, the MRE’s, Rodney’s laptop, and an I-pod.

Jack showed him how each item worked, although he couldn’t explain how they worked. Finally Bra’tac got to the items he was most interested in, the P-90’s, Beretta’s and other guns. Jack gave him a brief lesson, showing him how to break down the weapons, reload them, sight a target, and switch the semi-automatics to single shot weapons.

Bra’tac was suitably impressed and demanded the symbol of their world. Making an instant decision to trust this man, Jack drew the symbol and Bra’tac felt the weight of destiny. Here was the final piece that would save his people. The Tau’ri of the First World had advanced enough to challenge the System Lords, especially reduced as they now were.

“We have been on this planet for five of its years. Half my Jaffa remain loyal to Apophis, still thinking he is a god. They refuse to see he is a false god who grows madder by the day. I fear he will destroy us all before he is done,” he exclaimed. “He rules from this ship, which he seldom leaves.”

“You’ve got a spaceship? Why can’t you leave?” Jack demanded. Had they left, he wouldn’t now be a prisoner.

Sighing, Bra’tac’s frustration showed. “We landed here to pick up the mineral that is mined here. We were here only a few hours when the Asgard showed up.”

“Who the hell are the Asgard?”

“I see the Tau’ri have become isolated,” Bra’tac smirked. “The Asgard are yet another race among the stars.”

Jack ignored the implied criticism. “What do these Asgard have to do with anything?”

“I was with Apophis when Thor, the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet appeared in the throne room. He told Apophis the Asgard were confining every System Lord to the planets on which the Asgard find them,” Bra’tac explained.

Jack didn’t understand most of what he was told. But if there were more like Apophis through the Stargate, he was glad they were being confined. “Why hasn’t Apophis gone through the Stargate? And, how exactly are you being confined?” Jack asked. That was the information that would most impact his team.

“Stargate?” Bra’tac started with some confusion. “Ah, the Chappa’ai. That has been partially disabled. We can no longer dial any planet on which a System Lord had a stronghold. The only planets we have been able to dial thus far are sparsely populated and have little of worth. When we find such a world, we take the population here,” he said.

“And the people go willingly?” Jack’s face was a mask of incredulity.

“Willingly? No, but since when does a god care for what his subjects think?” Bra’tac remarked bitterly. “And,” he spat, pointing to his staff weapon and the sleek, snake-like device, “Our weapons are superior.”

Well. That explained the empty planets, Jack thought. “Why take them?”

“A god, false or not needs to be worshipped. The strong are put to work building the palace or mining the naquadah, and the young and beautiful are forced to service Apophis in other ways,” Bra’tac snarled, thinking of the boys and girls that were barely out of childhood. Apophis’ use of these children escalated every year they were here.

“And you can’t fly the ship away - - why?” Jack drawled.

“Every time we have attempted to fly the ha’tak, we encounter a barrier barring our way,” Bra’tac stated.

A shield, Jack thought. “So, Bra’tac, buddy. You’ve got our guns, what do you need us for?”

“I will give you and your men back your weapons and equipment. In two days time, I will open the doors to your prison and you will take me hostage,” the First Prime ordered.

“Why not join us?”

“Because, Jack O’Neill of the Tau’ri. Should you fail, I, and anyone else who joins you will follow you into death,” Bra’tac barked. “The Jaffa loyal to me will stay out of your way and aid you as best they can.”

“How many Jaffa aren’t loyal to you?” Jack inquired.

“About three hundred.”

Jack laughed sarcastically. “You expect a handful of men to fight three hundred of your guys?

“Not three hundred, O’Neill. Maybe two dozen Jaffa and no more than four or five of your men. Most of the Jaffa, even those that still worship Apophis, will not do anything to put their First Prime’s life in danger. You come at a most fortuitous time,” he smiled. “Apophis will be entering his sarcophagus in two days time. We need only get to the sarcophagus room and kill Apophis and those that guard him.”

“And we’ll have you as a hostage?” Jack returned Bra’tac’s smile. “There was something in our equipment you didn’t ask about. It’s called C-4,” Jack said slowly, a plan forming in his mind. He made a mental note to give Sheppard a field promotion for insisting on packing as much C-4 as he could.

“I will see that your men start receiving adequate food, so they have the strength to do what they must,” Bra’tac promised.

“We’ll need the scholar back as well,” Jack requested.

“You shall have him, O’Neill.”

Jack and Bra’tac put their heads together and began planning.

~0~

Jack was returned to his cell, much to the relief of the entire team. A half hour after Jack got back, Daniel, and a substantial meal was delivered. Jack immediately took Daniel to the back corner of the cell as his team blocked them from view, turning their backs on the two men, giving them as much privacy as possible.

Jack took Daniel in his arms in a hard, brief hug. He wanted nothing more than to break down and cry; his relief at seeing Daniel was overwhelming and the fear and grief he’d experienced over the last days rose up. He staggered behind the partial wall where the toilet was and vomited.

He couldn’t afford this emotion, couldn’t afford to let his team see him break down. But Jack was no longer military, and Daniel certainly wasn’t. Daniel was his lover, for all intents and purposes, his husband, and it had been horribly unfair to expect the sort of professionalism he was once known for under these circumstances. Jack struggled to pull himself together; he dug deep and let his anger get him to where he needed to be.

Jack and Daniel returned to the team who had by this time fallen on the meal; they had been fed just enough to keep them at the constant edge of hunger, but not so little that they wouldn’t be able to get this meal down. They would have eaten even if they weren’t hungry; they were trained to survive. Daniel was in the best shape as he had been well fed during his time with Apophis.

Jack hadn’t yet told the team that there was now a plan in place. He was waiting for Daniel to be returned before he gave anyone false hope. Now that Daniel was back, he needed to hear what he experienced in the event it would have any bearing on their upcoming escape.

Jack waited until they finished eating, and then gathered everyone close. “Daniel, you spent almost a week with Apophis, did you learn anything new?”

Daniel was exhausted. He had spent the last week trying to appease a madman, but he knew Jack needed this information. “Apophis is insane. He and his men have been trapped on this planet, called Arcea, for years. The second time I was brought in to be tortured, he asked me if I’d ever heard of Lord Apophis. When I told him I had, he wanted every myth, legend, and story I knew.”

The men all began to nod. They had all been asked the same question. The only thing that any of them could tell him was the little information Daniel had imparted to them.

“Did he ask where you got these stories?” Jack asked.

“Surprisingly, no. He seemed to take it for granted that we would have heard of him. He assumed that the rest of you were uneducated barbarians,” Daniel revealed.

“And he wasn’t interested in Earth’s address?” Jack repeated.

“No, but I have a theory.”

“Well, let’s hear it,” Rodney demanded.

“There’s two things at play. One; he meets every definition of insanity we have, and therefore he’s not thinking tactically. And two; he seemed to age over the last week. Not a lot, but he definitely looked less. . . vital every day. He told me he had to use his sarcophagus in order to renew himself,” Daniel explained. He glanced at each person’s face seeing his own confusion mirrored. “And, no, I have no idea what that means, except that if he’s got more energy, he might turn his attention toward Earth.”

“I know about the sarcophagus,” Jack remarked. “Bra’tac, the old guy wants out and he’s willing to help us.” A ripple of excitement passed through the team. Jack could feel it infect every member of the team.

“Apophis needs to go into the sarcophagus every so often to maintain his vigor. Bra’tac doesn’t know how it works, he calls it magic. The sarc is in an isolated part of the ship. . .”

Jack was interrupted by cries of surprise and questions. He motioned for silence. “It’s a huge honkin’ spaceship according to Bra’tac. The reason if wasn’t seen on the first trip is that it’s parked about fifty miles from the town.”

Jack went on to explain what Bra’tac had told him, unable to answer a number of their questions, especially those of Daniel and Rodney. “Look,” he finally said, “I wasn’t all that interested. All I cared about is that Bra’tac is willing to help us and we’ve got a plan.”

“Edwards, Carter, Garcia, Henderson, Ryan, Mansfield, Sheppard, and McKay are going to be taken about a mile away from the Stargate by Bra’tac’s second in command, Ja’lec. They’ve got some kind of transportation device,” he started to lay out their escape plan.

“Me, Daniel, Lorne, Coburn, and Brooks are going to stay behind and destroy the sarc with Apophis in it. We’re not getting home any other way, Apophis considers us slaves and he likes playing with his slaves until they break,” Jack stated bluntly.

It was Rodney who jumped in with the most obvious flaw in the plan. “How do you know you know this isn’t a trap?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t think there’s any other way to get out of here and I trust Bra’tac. He and the men that support him want to get home to their families, just like we do,” Jack said.

“Sheppard, you’ll have fifteen minutes to get the ship up and running before you have to get back to the Stargate. We’ll be approximately twenty-five minutes behind you. If you can’t make it work, it gets left,” he ordered.

“We stay with Sheppard and McKay?” Edwards asked.

“We’re already splitting the team. I’m not comfortable splitting it any more. Besides, Sheppard and McKay might need back up. Our gear is going to be returned sometime tomorrow night. Apophis goes into the sarc the next morning. We need to be ready to go,” Jack answered.

~0~

The team readied themselves mentally and physically as best they could. They slept as much as possible on the hard floor and caught up on meals, which now came every few hours and were enough to fill grown men. Jack sat with every member of the team going over and over the plan until the plan was more important than their fear.

He tried to account for every contingency for his team’s role in the escape, but knew that was impossible. There were too many unknown elements. Daniel was going with him in case they needed to translate anything, but mainly because Jack couldn’t have him out of his sight again. If Daniel died during the attempt to kill Apophis, then Jack knew he wasn’t going home.

Lorne, Coburn, and Brooks were chosen because they were the most flexible thinkers, able to adjust to unforeseen events quickly. Jack had studied each man’s jacket, paying particular attention to their psyche profiles. Daniel was also able to think quickly and outside the box, as was Jack himself, an added element that might be the difference between success and death. The fact that the three military members were all expert marksmen, were trained in hand-to-hand combat, and were in top physical shape and could run fast didn’t hurt. Jack hoped he’d be able to get by on adrenaline.

When they had no hope and were mired in despair and fear for Daniel, the time had passed slowly, now time was in fast-forward. Another meal was delivered and they had barely finished eating when Bra’tac and several others appeared in front of their cell to deliver their gear.

“O’Neill, you and your men are ready?”

“We’re ready. What about your guys?”

“My Jaffa are in place. Ja’lec and I will be here in a few short hours. Make sure you are ready,” Bra’tac ordered before he turned on his heel and left, his Jaffa following him.

The team went through the packs, grabbing weapons. Jack found his own and John’s pack, loaded with C-4. He unpacked both packs, putting aside what he didn’t need for the immediate mission. He took most of the C-4, a compass, two knives, several water bottles, rope, a lighter, a roll of duct tape, a pair of safety glasses, and a flashlight.

He made his team empty their packs and split up the C-4. His team packed the identical equipment. He ordered the rest of his men to leave the tents, sleeping bags, and everything else that wasn’t needed or might hinder them on what was likely to be a flat out run for the ship.

Rodney and Sam insisted some of their equipment was necessary in the event the ship needed repairs. “If the ship needs more than a few minutes of repairs, it stays!” Jack barked. “I’m not gonna lose people over that fucking ship. You can take some of it - - spread it out. No one carries more than some one else. Everything else stays,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument.

Carter and Rodney went through their equipment three times, paring back as much as they could. They ended up with a manageable pile of paraphernalia that was distributed among the people headed for the ship. Rodney made sure each person knew exactly what they were carrying in case he or Samantha needed something quickly.

John checked Rodney’s pack, making sure it wasn’t too heavy. “You make sure you stay on my ass. I’m serious Rodney - - better too close.”

“Don’t worry, John. Where you go, I go,” he reminded his husband.

When the packs were ready to be slipped on the next morning, Jack had all the gear that was staying pushed to the back wall of their cell. He pulled Edwards aside for a brief discussion. Edwards yielded the floor to Jack. “Listen up, kids. I’m going to do this wholesale, but you’re all being promoted a grade. Colonel Edwards here agrees.

The team greeted the news quietly. They all just hoped they’d be around to enjoy their promotions.

~0~

Bra’tac and Ja’lec arrived alone the next morning and opened the cell. The team was ready to go and they all fell into place. Jack reminded both Edwards and Sheppard they were on the clock the second their boots hit the ground. They had factored in the time it would take to reach the transporters from their cell.

Ja’lec immediately ushered the eight team members to the ring transporter. Bra’tac and Jack’s team would need to make their way to the transporter after they had planted the C-4.

Bra’tac handed over his staff weapon and the sleek metallic weapon he had called a zat’nik’tel and that Jack had dubbed a zat. Bra’tac took them through the opulent, but eerily empty corridors. The route he chose was one he knew that would be empty of Jaffa at this time of the day. It would add a few extra minutes to their timetable, but both Bra’tac and Jack felt it was worth it.

They halted when they neared the sarcophagus room. Bra’tac took possession of the zat and approaching the two men that stood guard before the door, he fired the zat before they could sound any alarms or even utter a word. Two Jaffa loyal to him materialized from behind one of the walls and dragged the downed men away, under orders to kill them if they would not join the rebellion.

Bra’tac opened the door to the sarcophagus room, eyes searching for Apophis’ lo’taur, Nevaeh. Once it became clear that they were stuck on this world, Bra’tac had started working to turn Nevaeh away from Apophis.

He never said anything that could be construed as traitorous, he merely insinuated and gave the lo’taur something to think about. As the years passed and Apophis took younger and younger slaves, Nevaeh felt her position was threatened. She knew it was only a matter of time before she was replaced.

Bra’tac appealed constantly to her vanity and to her ego and to her pride, until she was ready to betray her lord. She had been plotting with him for the last six months. He would have killed her had he not been able to turn her, innocent as she was.

Bra’tac signaled Jack and the others into the room. The sarcophagus was on a platform in the middle of the room, surrounded by a shield. Nevaeh disarmed the shield and Jack and Coburn gently placed the C-4 on the sides of the sarc. They had been assured that the occupant wouldn’t awaken, but they weren’t about to take any chances. Lorne and Brooks slapped their share of the C-4 around the room, while Daniel absorbed everything in the room he could.

Jack took the time to check his watch; they were a minute ahead of schedule. “You guys done?” The C-4 around the room and on the sarc were on automatic timers set for ten minutes.

Coburn nodded. “Done!”

“Let’s go, let’s go,” Jack hurried his team, Bra’tac, and Nevaeh out of the room.

It would take approximately eight minutes to get from the sarc room to the ring transporters. Nevaeh was told to get to her room and stay there. It was far enough away from the C-4, that she would be unharmed.

They had been lucky so far. Two more Jaffa appeared to give the appearance that the humans were still under guard. Bra’tac took his staff weapon back and began leading the small group to the ring transporter, his heart beating fast. No matter what happened now, Apophis would soon be dead. Even if he survived the blast, he would have no means to heal himself if the sarcophagus was destroyed.

They were very close to the ring room when they ran into trouble. They were met by Jaffa still loyal to Apophis. They heard a cry of “Shol’va” and saw Bra’tac’s weapon come up and fire without hesitation.

Jaffa willing to overthrow Apophis poured into the wide corridor as Bra’tac broke into a run for the ring room. Jack’s team followed without thought and the sound of the battle faded as they stumbled into the room.

“You gonna be okay?” Jack asked Bra’tac.

Before he could answer the ship was rocked by the sound of loud explosions. There was a smile of unholy glee on Bra’tac’s face. “Tal shakka mel, O’Neill. If I should die, I die free!” he shouted satisfied. “”You must go now,” he ordered. He pushed the men into the circle and activated the rings.

They were transported to just outside the forest and began running for the ship. A nervous Henderson stepped out onto the road and led them to it. The team inside the ship had less than a minute to get it airborne.

John had been struggling. Every system on the ship lit up the moment he stepped inside it, but it wouldn’t fly. Rodney and Sam had been working frantically; both of them convinced it was a matter of a few loose wires holding things up.

“Go, go, go!” Jack screamed as the hatch closed and he launched himself into one of the pilot seats. The whine of other craft in the air strafing the forest could be heard. Jack’s head rocked back as information slammed into his brain and the ship was suddenly flying for the ‘gate.

“Someone’s gonna have to get out to dial,” Edwards yelled.

“Look, there’s an open wormhole!” Daniel shouted.

“We could end up anywhere,” Sam cried as they entered the event horizon.

~0~

The ship slowed as soon as it was through the Stargate, hovering for a moment or two before coming to rest beyond the ramp. The hatch opened and everyone in it began to pour out. Landry dismissed the rapid response team once he ascertained the people coming out of the ship were truly his.

Jack waited until everyone had disembarked before sauntering out. “General Landry,” he drawled. “Any reason no rescue attempt was made?”

“I was under orders not to send anyone through the Stargate to mount a rescue,” he said. What he didn’t say was that he had two full teams ready to go while he attempted to negotiate permission.

No one needed to ask who had issued those orders.

Stephens ran into the gate room, eyes focused on the ship. Over the last two weeks the team had been gone, he’d been working on something in case O’Neill and Sheppard made it back alive. He tore his eyes away from the ship to find the two men who had humiliated him. Reaching into his suit jacket, he withdrew two envelopes and handed one to O’Neill and one to Sheppard.

“These are your new orders,” he smirked. “You’ve both been recalled to service.” He had only been able to get them recalled to service for six months, although he’d tried to make it permanent.

Before anyone could respond to this new hit, Rodney strode a few steps to reach Stephens and punched him. Lorne and Carter immediately grabbed his arms; fearful Stephens would find new and inventive methods of reprisal.

The blow had forced Stephens to stagger back into General Landry. John moved quickly and was in Stephens face before anyone could stop him. “What makes you think we’ll cooperate with you?” he growled.

His face flushed and his eye already swelling, he growled back, “If you don’t, you’ll find yourself in a small locked room in Area 51. Which is where McKay will be working for the foreseeable future.”

Landry, taking stock of the situation and the expression on both Jack and John’s faces, suddenly found his balls. “Are you really as fucking stupid as you look? We’ll be discussing this in depth after the briefing.”

John walked to where Lorne and Carter were still restraining Rodney. “Let him go,” he ordered. He took his husband in his arms, petting his back and holding him until he calmed, whispering in his ear.

Scrubbing his face, Landry took the time to look over his people. They were all in rough shape. All of them were filthy, they had lost weight, and their eyes looked haunted. “All of you get to the infirmary. Debriefing when you’re done.”

Jack had had enough. “We’ll get checked out and if you want to debrief your people today, that’s your prerogative, although I’d recommend waiting until everyone’s had a good nights sleep. But you’re gonna have to wait until tomorrow for me and Daniel.”

“Us too,” Sheppard spoke up, lifting his head from Rodney’s neck.

“Agreed,” Landry barked, frowning at Stephens before the man could open his mouth.

A team of doctors was waiting for them. Jack wasn’t entirely surprised to see Doctor Beckett. He had been brought in to determine if going offworld had any effect on Jack or John’s physiology. Jack insisted he examine Daniel and Rodney as well since all four men knew him.

Jack managed to get a small window of time in which there were no SGC personnel near them. Carter and Lorne were the only ones close enough to hear. He grabbed Doctor Beckett’s arm and whispered urgently, “It’s not just the gene. There’s some kind of mental interface with the tech. You have to _want_ to use it, otherwise it doesn’t work.” Jack had felt it the moment he entered the ship, like a presence in the back of his head, telling him what he needed to know. John had been working with the tech for some time and hadn’t mentioned anything, so Jack wasn’t sure if John had felt it or not. If he had, Jack was sure he’d keep it to himself.

Carson looked startled for a moment, before his face resumed its professional blankness. The rumors of how O’Neill, Jackson, McKay, and Sheppard had been coerced into going on this mission had begun before they’d left. He’d been deeply unhappy with the pressures being brought to bear on his work and the shortcuts they were asking him to take. When the first whispers had reached his ears, he’d destroyed all his notes from his latest experiments, fabricating new ones, even as he’d sabotaged the results.

Kinsey, Simmons, and Stephens hadn’t taken one thing into account because it was something they were incapable of. Most of the scientists recruited to work in the Program had a great deal of respect for each other and so became loyal to each other, even those that were not working closely together. Anything that happened to one of them could happen to any of them. And many of the scientists had become friends.

Carson resumed his examination, stopping often to compare notes with the other doctors. The torture had had little lasting effect on any of the team, at least physically. Psychologically, all of them would need some time to deal with what they’d been through.

The post-mission physical was even more thorough than the pre-mission one and the entire team was exhausted by the time it was over. They all made their way to the mess where they inhaled a meal. The SGC personnel were allowed to go to base quarters, and Jack, Daniel, John, and Rodney were escorted to the VIP rooms they had used before.

John pulled Rodney into their room, stripped, and slowly undressed his husband. He led him to the shower and climbed in with him, quickly washing himself. He insisted on washing Rodney, needing to check every inch of him to make sure he was whole. He hadn’t touched him the entire time on Arcea, not in love, not wanting to give the aliens anyone to hold over his head.

He gently washed Rodney’s hair, strong fingers massaging his head and neck, loosening muscles made tight by the uncertainty of imprisonment and the scene in the gate room. John lathered up a washcloth, scrubbing softly at arms, and chest, and back. Kneeling, John washed Rodney’s lower half, letting the water sluice away soap, and sweat, and dirt.

As each area became clean and pink, John kissed the washed flesh, lips lingering. Even knowing the room was wired for surveillance didn’t stop him. Under his husband’s patient hands, Rodney had gotten hard. John’s lips kissed and caressed, taking him in, hungry for the hard flesh now filling his mouth.

Rodney leaned against the tiled wall, hand reaching for John’s head. Groaning deeply, he watched his husband take him in, head bobbing slowly as his tongue swirled around the head of Rodney’s penis.

John brought Rodney quickly to orgasm, craving the feel and taste of him pulsing in his mouth. And then, before he’d come down, Rodney was reaching for John, reaching for his erection. Breathing hard, he stroked his husband’s penis.

Shaking in Rodney’s arms, John’s hips thrust hard and he came, moaning. He let the water run a little longer and then he reached to shut off the stream as he held Rodney. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too, John. Come on, let’s get some sleep.” Rodney said, reaching for a towel. They still had numerous problems to deal with, but they were alive and they would face them together.

Jack and Daniel had also showered together, anxious to wash Arcea off their bodies. Jack was silent, busy planning his next move. The days he’d been separated from Daniel had taken its toll. Despite his love for Autumn, Wynter, his friends, and the winery, Jack had discovered that none of it would mean anything without his lover. He was determined to do what he had to do to protect Daniel and everything else he loved. It would mean getting his hands filthy, but he figured he could live with that.

Daniel knew this mood and knew to leave it be until Jack was ready to break his silence. Jack turned out the overhead lights, snapping on the small desk lamp and both men climbed into bed. Jack took Daniel into his arms, dragging him on top of him. The light cast a dim glow, but it was enough for Jack to see Daniel’s face, something he desperately needed.

Jack spread his legs, nestling his lover between them. Cupping Daniel’s head he kissed him deeply, getting hard, and felt Daniel’s erection against him. Daniel began thrusting and Jack sighed deeply. He wanted this, needed it as much as he needed to see his lover, but hadn’t known how to ask for it.

Daniel had needed to make love as well, but had been willing to wait. His time spent with Apophis had deeply impacted him as he walked a very narrow rope, trying to keep himself and the others alive. Apophis was insane; but there was something in Daniel’s soothing, steady voice that had calmed him as he listened to the old legends of Earth.

Daniel put it all out of his mind as he felt Jack’s strong arms around him and his hard body beneath him. He could smell the scent of their rising lust and he could taste Jack despite their recent shower as his lips wandered Jack’s face, and jaw, and neck.

Sweat beaded on their bodies and his balls tightened as pleasure gripped them. He could feel Jack’s large hands kneading his ass, pressing his body tightly against his. Grunting, Jack thrust up demandingly as his legs wrapped around Daniel’s waist.

Crisp pubic hair rasped against Daniel’s penis, and the friction on sensitive flesh was exquisite. Daniel’s muscles tensed and he shook trying to hold back his orgasm. He could feel Jack’s legs trembling and then he felt wet heat splashing his stomach, triggering his own orgasm.

They lay exhausted and boneless in each other’s arms, kissing and making soft sounds of contentment. They feel asleep as unseen eyes watched them with disgust.

~0~

The entire team was given three hours to write up their reports. They would debrief immediately after and they were warned that the briefing was likely to last all day. Lunch, and if needed, dinner would be brought in. Jack snorted at that; he still had a trick or two to play.

Jack asked to use the phone, claiming he had to check on his children. Following his lead, Daniel, Rodney, and John also asked to make phone calls. John called his father, telling him exactly where he was. Rodney called Zelenka, while Daniel called Hammond. Jack called Marty. Should anything happen to them now, Stephens would be hard pressed to come up with answers.

Reports finished, the team walked into the briefing room finding Landry and Stephens already seated. Stephens was wearing his trademark smirk and was sitting at the head of the table. Before he could open his mouth, Jack took control.

“General Landry, before we get started I’d like to inform you that with the exception of Colonel Edwards, I gave every member of my Air Force team a field promotion,” he said, totally ignoring Stephens.

Landry’s hands were tied, whether he agreed or not. Jack had been recalled to service for this mission and had the right to give field promotions. “Noted.”

Stephens broke in. “I’m running this meeting, O’Neill!”

Jack finally acknowledged the other man’s presence. Briefly. Turning once again to Landry, he spoke as respectfully as he could. “General Landry, I will be happy to answer any questions from another member of the Air Force. One who doesn’t take direct orders from an outside agency.” Jack knew Landry’s hands were tied, as were the President’s. It was his intention to help them both to find their balls again. If they didn’t he might never get his life back. He was willing to do what needed to be done, but he also needed to have some protection.

Landry eyed Jack, thinking, thank god. Once every six weeks he met with the President and they discussed various ways to get out from under the thumb of Kinsey and his two pals. They had yet to find a solution. He was hoping Jack O’Neill would be the wedge needed to pry Kinsey and the others loose from Stargate Command. “Understood, Colonel O’Neill.”

“I don’t understand,” Stephens yelled.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to make due with the others,” Landry said.

“Fine. I’ll deal with you later, O’Neill. Colonel Edwards,” he began.

“I’m afraid, I won’t be able to answer any questions either. I’ll just let my mission report speak for me,” Edwards said, handing it over.

Every member of the military had the same comment, except John. John’s reply had been a heartfelt, “Fuck you!” They others simply refused to answer any questions posed by Stephens and Landry refused to ask any. Stephens finally turned to Rodney.

“Oh, please,” he remarked before one word had been spoken.

Stephens didn’t bother to try Daniel. Slamming his hands on the table, he stood. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

Jack radiated boredom. “You’re right. It’s not completely over, but I’d say for the moment it is.”

Once Stephens left the briefing room, Jack turned to Landry, demanding that he, Daniel, John, and Rodney be allowed to leave the base. Despite the fact that Jack and John had been recalled, Landry gave them leave to go.

~0~

Samantha, under the guise of hugging Rodney goodbye, slipped two small objects into his hands. They signed out a car and headed for The Broadmoor, booking a two-room cottage once they arrived.

Rodney swept the room for bugs once they were checked in, silently thanking Sam for thinking to slip him the bug detector. Jack headed straight for the mini bar, taking out an assortment of small bottles.

John poured out several small bottles of Dewar’s for himself and Daniel, Rodney went straight for the Stoly, and Jack poured himself a double Jack Daniel’s. The four men clinked glasses and slammed back their drinks, before sitting at the table in the cottage’s living room.

“Let’s hear the plan,” Rodney demanded, speaking to Jack.

“I don’t have one yet, at least not long term. I’ve bought us some time, and probably not a lot. We’ll go back to the base and tell them we’ll cooperate one week a month,” Jack laid out his thoughts.

“What do you mean, Jack? Cooperate with what?” Daniel asked, trying to contain his panic. He didn’t want Jack stepping through the fucking Stargate ever again.

Jack heard his lover’s panic. “They’ll have to throw me through the ‘gate, Daniel. I was talking about the tech. I know they have Lorne, but his gene isn’t all that strong. They can’t make it work without us, not yet, and they need our cooperation to make it work.”

“You heard Stephens. He’ll be more than happy to keep you and John locked in a room,” Daniel argued.

“They can keep us locked up all they want, Daniel. The tech won’t work unless we want it to.” Jack grinned.

“Huh?” Rodney grunted. “You never said anything to me!” he barked at John.

John’s face creased in thought. “I sorta had an incentive for the tech to work, Rodney,” John said blushing slightly. Rodney would always be in a great mood whenever he initialized any of the technology. And Rodney in a great mood translated to a horny Rodney who would end up pushing John into his private bathroom and blowing him enthusiastically, before chasing him out of his lab to work on the gadget. “You have to admit you give one hellava . . .”

“Yes, yes,” Rodney bleated. Turning back to Jack who was trying not to laugh, he asked, “Are you saying if you don’t _want_ the tech to work, it won’t? And, how exactly, do you know?”

“Didn’t you feel it?” he asked John. “In your head, like a presence, kinda guiding you,” Jack tried to explain. “When we got in the ship, I knew exactly what it was capable of, what schematics I could pull up, knew how to turn on the shields, knew I could dial the Stargate, and knew I could fly it without touching anything.”

“John . . .”

“Yeah, I’ve felt it all along, but I just thought it was me,” John admitted.

Rodney stood and took a small device out of his pocket. Sam managed to slip me this along with the bug sweeper. “Think about how you don’t want this to work, John,” he instructed. He waited a few moments and then handed the device over to his husband, where it remained inert.

“Now what?” John wanted to know.

“Hey, did you call Jake to find out about Cherry?” Rodney asked. Two days before they’d left for Colorado Springs, Cherry had somehow gotten a large gash on her hindquarters. John had called the vet to come out to stitch her up and administer antibiotics. John had been concerned the gash would become infected or leave an unsightly scar.

“I haven’t exactly had time, Rodney,” he bitched.

“Umm. That’s true. I wonder if Rose had her kittens yet,” Rodney wondered aloud.

“Rose?” Daniel questioned.

“Yeah, she’s a blonde stable cat. I named her after the tenth doctor’s companion,” he snickered.

They discussed the farm for a few more minutes while the small circular object continued to remain inert and forgotten in John’s hand.

“Guess I was right,” Jack remarked smugly.

“We still need to make sure it’s operational. Think _on_ at it, John,” Rodney requested.

Hard on the heels of Rodney’s request, the object glowed brightly blue and strange music from a distant world could be heard.

“And now we have something to negotiate with,” Daniel observed.

“Yup,” Jack agreed. “But we have another problem. Do we tell Winsome, Rodney’s sister, and John’s brother about their kids?”

John jumped in. “No. Not until we’ve taken care of the problem.”

“Is that really fair? I think they have the right to know so they can protect their children at the very least,” Daniel commented.

“No, John’s right. We’ll tell them after those three fuckers are dead,” Rodney growled. For him, it was a very simple equation.

“You realize you’re talking about murder, right?” Daniel reasoned.

“Yes, Daniel. I know what I’m talking about. I don’t know why people think I’m fucking naïve. Don’t forget how long I’ve worked for the government.” Rodney bit out.

“Assassination is already on the table, Daniel. At least according to Hammond,” Jack informed them.

“So why haven’t they been killed yet?” Daniel demanded.

“Because, they want them taken out at the same time.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to do it, Jack,” Daniel argued.

“I think maybe it does, babe,” Jack begged his lover to understand. “We’re not talking about theoretical what ifs here, Daniel. They’ve already proven they’re willing to kill. Are you willing to sacrifice any of the kids? If we don’t do this, then we all spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders. Men like this never give up,” Jack said gently.

Daniel had spent a good part of his life in academia, but it didn’t make him any more naïve than anyone else sitting at the table. He’d grown up in foster care and had seen his share of violence. His moral code allowed him to defend the weak. His main concern was what this would do to Jack and John.

He considered Jack’s question about sacrificing the kids and he saw images of them in his mind: Autumn and Wynter sleeping snug in their beds, Zakia giggling, Madison launching herself at her uncles for a hug, Sabrina coloring, so intent she wouldn’t hear her name being called. He loved them and couldn’t imagine being without any of them. His life was rich and he was blessed in so many ways.

He knew Kinsey, Simmons, and Stephens would destroy any of them as easily as he would swat a fly. To men like them, the kids were nothing more than tools to be used. But, they, along with Jack and the rest of his family were his world. And he would do anything to protect his world.

“How do we do this so we don’t get caught?”

Rodney had spent most of his time in captivity thinking about this. “Guerrilla warfare,” he stated. “We hit them where it hurts. Right in their bank accounts. It’s the only thing that might cause them to get sloppy. And I don’t think anyone will be trying too hard to find out who killed them. They’ve made a lot of enemies who’ll be glad to see them gone. Anyone that’s working with them knows they’ve broken enough laws to see them in prison for the rest of their lives. I can’t see them making a stink either.”

“Can you tap their accounts with no comebacks,” John asked harshly.

“Please. One of the kids could do it,” he smirked.

They discussed their plans for a while longer and then having missed lunch, ordered a large meal from room service. Daniel and Rodney went to shower and Jack made a run to the hotel’s gift shop, picking up gifts for Autumn, Wynter, Zakia, and Winsome. He also picked up two bottles of lube, managing to give one of the bottles to John without Rodney seeing him. They ate, relishing their meal, memories of the spare meals they had been served while imprisoned still driving their hunger.

They enjoyed a brandy after their meal, lingering, and wondering how long it would be before they could get back home. Each man felt a longing for home that they never expected. None of them had ever stayed long in one place, they were all able to adapt to new environments with relative ease.

While serving, Jack and John had to go where they were told. Daniel had been moved through a number of foster homes after his parents had died. Egypt had felt most like home to him until he met Jack. Rodney had moved from lab to lab and country to country, going where he was needed, or where he was sent. They would be fine as long as they were with their partners, but over the last years, Southold had become home; the winery, the farm, the college, and most of all, the people.

They finally said goodnight and went to their separate rooms.

~0~

Jack closed the bedroom door, pulling Daniel to him. He held him for long minutes, head buried in Daniel’s neck, breathing him in. There had been moments over the last week when Jack had utterly lost hope, convinced he had lost the man in his arms.

He hadn’t let himself think about it since they got home. The depths of his despair had frightened him in some ways. There had never been anyone that had mattered this much. Still clutching Daniel, he struggled to choke back his emotion.

Daniel held him tightly, hands sweeping his broad back. He could easily understand Jack’s emotions; Daniel didn’t know what he’d do without Jack. There were still days when he woke, wondering at his luck. His life had always been filled with his work - - now his life also held love and joy.

“Come on, let’s make love,” Daniel breathed in Jack’s ear. He led Jack to the bed and they stripped, letting their clothes lay where they dropped. Naked, Jack cupped the back of Daniel’s neck, his thumb stroking, and he moved to feel the heat of bare flesh against his.

Daniel’s nakedness acted as a trigger for Jack’s suddenly greedy hands and mouth. He was starved for the feel and taste of his lover, and aggressive with it. Burning with need, he worked his mouth down Daniel’s slender body. Kneeling, he took his lover’s hard shaft into his mouth, suckling the thick flesh.

Daniel threaded his hands through Jack’s hair, cupping his head close to his groin as he pumped into his mouth. Eyes closed, he reveled in the feel of Jack’s wet mouth on his cock.

“I want more,” Daniel demanded.

Jack pulled off of him and Daniel piled the pillows and lay face down on top of them. Jack spread Daniel’s legs, and eyed what was on display. Mouth watering, he painted Daniel’s body, his tongue soft, moving from the base of his lover’s cock to his tight sac and up his sensitive perineum.

When Daniel began to squirm, Jack spread his ass and licked at the tender flesh of his entrance. He firmed his tongue and stabbed at Daniel’s hole, forcing grunts of pleasure from his lover.

He worked Daniel’s ass until he was wet and glistening and the grunts were replaced by growls. Jack drizzled some lube onto his cock and moving to cover him, thrust slowly into his lover.

Jack stroked into tight, slick heat, pumping with abandon and moaning deeply. But it wasn’t enough. Jack needed to feel Daniel pulsing around every part of him, needed to touch.

Grabbing Daniel tightly around his waist, Jack knelt back, dragging Daniel with him. His lush body was seated with Jack buried deep, and he began to move sensually, writhing and fucking himself on his lover’s fat, stiff cock.

Jack rolled his hips voluptuously, one hand moving with purpose on Daniel’s penis, the fingers of his other hand tugging at a nipple. Their bodies were gleaming with sweat, slippery and graceful.

Daniel leaned his head into Jack’s shoulder, his arms reaching behind him to touch and stroke and grasp dense muscle. Still moving sinuously, Daniel convulsed into Jack’s hand, coming in hot, pulsing ecstasy.

Bending his head to bite lightly at Daniel’s neck, Jack continued to work his cock, prolonging his orgasm. “Christ, Danny, you feel so fucking good,” he whispered harshly, his voice broken and ragged.

“I love you, Danny, I love you,” he sobbed as he came, his orgasm ripping through his body, leaving him blissed out and racked with pleasure.

Daniel appreciated Jack’s strength as he took them both down on their sides; Jack spooned tightly behind him, still buried within. One hand idly caressed rapidly cooling flesh, breath slowing.

Wriggling closer, Daniel sighed. “I’m still here, Jack.”

“I know, Daniel. And I plan on keeping it that way,” Jack vowed.

Picking up Jack’s slowly moving hand to kiss, Daniel whispered, “I love you, Jack.”

Spent, emotionally and physically, they slipped into sleep between one breath and the next.

~0~

The moment the door was closed, John rasped, “Get naked, Rodney.”

“Yes, sir,” he said, hands busy stripping off his t-shirt, obeying immediately.

John’s cock twitched in his pants. “I could get used to that,” he growled, stripping off his own clothes.

“I’ll be happy to indulge you,” Rodney hinted.

“I’ve still got my Class A’s at home,” John informed him, his voice holding a promise. “Lay down, you haven’t been fulfilling your conjugal duties.”

Rodney slipped his pants and briefs down, kicking them out of his way, as John’s eyes stalked him. “Conjugal duties, huh? Well, I wouldn’t want you to divorce me over that.”

John followed his husband to the bed, greedy for the feel and taste of his strong, solid body. Lying down, he licked and bit at the flat, pink nipples, loving how his mouth licking there could turn Rodney into a wanton slut in moments. His tongue lapped at the pebbled nipples until Rodney was groaning and writhing.

His hands gently slid up and down the inside of powerful thighs, and lingered lovingly on his husband’s soft belly, his touch knowing. John piled the pillows behind Rodney’s head and propped him up, handing him the lube he’d put in the bedroom earlier. He then straddled his broad chest, legs spread obscenely wide.

John inched his way up Rodney’s body and fed him his cock, bit by bit, gloating over that wide mouth swallowing him down. He rose up on his knees, pumping gently into the wet warmth, his balls grazing over Rodney’s chin, thick, lubed fingers busy stretching John’s hole.

He slowly pulled out of his husband’s juicy mouth, and pushed Rodney’s body further up so he was nearly sitting. He slicked up Rodney, and still straddling him, slowly sat on his thick, red cock.

Head thrown back in ecstasy, he rocked, rolling his hips. Rodney moaned loudly as John’s tight ass gripped his penis, sending shocks of pleasure up and down his body. They began to sweat and strive, reaching to kiss, hands caressing heated skin.

John sat up and snarled when Rodney grasped his penis, his hand stroking him and twisting in time with his rocking, calloused thumb rubbing small circles on the fat, flared head. John came, euphoria and bliss rocking his body, calling out Rodney’s name hoarsely.

Rodney watched his husband’s face twist and freeze in sensual pleasure and felt the blood hot semen on his bare flesh, felt the contractions work his aching cock, and he grabbed John’s hips, thrusting up recklessly, coming deep inside John’s body, breath sobbing.

John collapsed into Rodney’s arms, feeling his big hands rubbing up and down his back. He moved for a kiss and Rodney threaded his hands through John’s thick, dark hair.

He pulled off Rodney and curled into his strong body, the muscular arms drawing him closer. “We’re going to be okay, John.”

“Are we?” John asked.

“Eventually. Jack is pretty determined and I know you are as well,” Rodney said, yawning.

“Yeah,” he replied softly and mostly asleep.

Rodney felt John’s even breathing and brushed a light kiss on the side of his head, and joined him in sleep.

~0~

The four men spent much of the next morning on the phone with lawyers. They had made a joint decision not to call their families. All of them just wanted to finish their business in Colorado Springs. They spent the rest of the day catching up on meals and making love. They called the mountain after dinner, telling Landry they would arrive at the base early the next morning.

When they arrived they were immediately escorted to a briefing room. They were kept waiting for thirty minutes before Stephens showed up. They recognized his tactics and were cracking jokes at his expense.

They continued to snicker as he sat down, slamming files onto the table. “Keep laughing. You can be assured I’ll be having the last laugh. Sheppard, O’Neill, you’ll be staying on base until the geeks can figure out how the ship works.”

“No - - we won’t,” Jack stated flatly. “I’m not dealing with you, period. And since I’m one of the people you need to get the ship to operate, I would suggest you start showing me a little respect.”

“You’ll do as I say, for as long as I say,” Stephens shouted.

“Here’s what John and I are willing to do. We’re willing to give you one week a month until our team of very high priced lawyers rescinds the recall orders. If I were you, I’d take what I could get,” Jack recommended.

Stephens grinned. “You’ve got a set, I’ll give you that. I own you. Let’s get started, shall we?”

Jack grinned back. “Just to let you know, the tech won’t work if we don’t want it to. And before you start to threaten our family again, you should know that if any one I care about gets so much as a splinter, we’ll never make the ship work,” he taunted Stephens.

“Oh, and you’ll only live long enough to bury your wife and kids. I’ve got people in place ready to take them out. If you wanna roll around in the dirt, let’s go,” he added.

“Who the fuck do you think you are, O’Neill?” Stephens spat.

“I’m a former Special Ops Air Force Colonel, trained by my government to kill in a dozen different ways. I spent most of my career doing one covert operation after another,” Jack stated, letting Stephens see the man he was capable of being. He picked up one of the pens that had rolled to the middle of the table. “I can kill you with this. Wanna see?”

“If I were you, I’d take the deal, Stephens,” Rodney advised.

“I think you’re bluffing about the tech,” Stephens barked. He opened the door and two armed MP’s were waiting outside. “I’ll be back for you two,” he addressed Daniel and Rodney.

The MP’s escorted Jack and John to the ship, still in place in the Gate room, Stephens bringing up the rear. The ship’s hatch had been left open and Jack and John entered the ship, which remained dark and inert. Stephens demanded they touch the consoles and grab the joysticks, which they gladly did while discussing Legend, the new release, slated to go on sale in November. John had asked to come to the last tasting and he had been suitably impressed.

Stephens was practically having a temper tantrum as he loudly demanded they get the ship working. The MP’s snickered at him as Jack and John ignored his ranting. He began screaming at the top of his lungs when it finally sunk in that he couldn’t force Jack or John into cooperating. He was going to have to concede to their demands.

Landry put in an appearance and told him he would be sedated if he didn’t calm down. He had the MP’s escort him out of the ‘gate room. Hank poked his head into the ship. “He’s gone. I suggest you get your asses out of here. I’ll be working to get your orders changed.”

### July

July was well under way when the four men returned home. They had lost all track of time on Arcea. They had been gone three weeks, and for all of them, it felt like a much longer time since they’d been home. They were all grateful to be home and anxious to spend time with the people they loved and looking forward to getting back to work.

John and Rodney headed straight to the farm, John feeling a deep need to see his horses. Jake was currying Tansy when they walked into the stable. He grunted a greeting and went back to his task.

Jake had been living in the apartment above the garage. He was considering asking John if he needed someone permanently. He really liked the set up and the fact that the people of Southold had welcomed him with open arms. During the last few weeks, many people had made a point of stopping by to see how he was settling in.

Rodney searched for Rose and he found her curled up in a corner of the stable, nestled in a pile of straw and nursing three tiny kittens. She looked well fed and there was a bowl of food and water near her. Rodney made a mental note to give Jake a little extra in his paycheck. He spent a few minutes running a careful finger along the backs of the kittens, Rose watching contentedly.

“You done slobbering over the kittens, Rodney?” John asked.

“That depends. Are _you_ done slobbering over the horses?” he joked.

“I am,” was the laughing answer.

They decided to get Bella from Teal’c the next day and went home to make love.

~0~

Daniel and Jack headed straight for Winsome and Brad’s house, eager to see their children. When Winsome answered their knock, she pulled them into the house, crying. “I’ve been so worried. You couldn’t pick up a phone?” she yelled at Jack and Daniel.

Daniel hugged Winsome in apology. “It wasn’t possible, Winsome. We’re so sorry.”

“Did you get your trouble straightened out?” she asked Jack, still in Daniel’s arms.

“Not completely, but I’m working on it,” Jack said. “Where are the girls?”

Winsome knew not to push Jack. He’d talk to her when he was ready. The last week or so had been very difficult. Not hearing from Jack or Daniel, she’d begun harassing Marty for information. When that had yielded no results, she’d been talking daily to Leah and Jeannie, who were just as worried about John and Rodney.

Autumn and Wynter had been getting more and more distressed by the day. It was hard to reassure them when she was worried herself. “At camp. I enrolled all three of them for a month at Southold and a month at Scarlet Woods Riding Academy, she answered. “And you better have gifts O’Neill.”

Jack remembered Daniel mentioning the camp program at Southold the week before their lives had blown up. He saw Winsome was upset with them and he couldn’t blame her. He silently vowed once again he’d make this up to her. In an attempt to get her past anger, he teased her. “How much is that gonna set me back?” he asked, handing over a bag of gifts for her and Zakia.

“Thanks to Daniel, we’re getting a discount at Southold, but Scarlet Woods is four grand per kid for the month. But lunch is included,” she said sweetly.

Jack wasn’t fooled. Winsome was hardly ever sweet. He sighed quietly. He hoped Winsome would understand and forgive him when he was able to tell her the truth. Pretending to grumble, he snapped, “Eight grand! For a month. Wow, do they get to keep a horse?”

Winsome softened, just a little. “I hear tell horses like grapes.”

Laughing, Jack promised he’d be back to pick up the girls’ clothes tomorrow.

“Don’t faint when you get your credit card bill this month. I had to take them shopping for summer clothes and I have good taste.”

Jack fully intended paying for Zakia’s month at Scarlet Woods under the guise of a gift. Winsome and Brad would never accept the money any other way, not even in thanks for being there for Autumn and Wynter. “I’ll make sure Daniel takes care of the bills this month,” he said.

They shared a chuckle over that and then left. They wanted to see the children for themselves. Daniel called Hammond to find out where the girls would be at this time of the day.

~0~

Daniel and Jack entered the building where the kids were swimming. They quickly found the pool by following the joyful shouting of children. They stood at the entryway, searching out their daughters.

Autumn spied them first and she ran screaming to them. “Dad, dad!” She ran into Daniel’s arms and he picked her up, holding her close.

Wynter was hard on her heels and she launched herself at Jack. They soon switched children with them chattering so fast they could barely be understood. Zakia was waiting for her turn to say hello and Jack and Daniel hugged her just as hard.

Daisy was one of the people running the camp this year and she went with Autumn and Wynter so they could change. They headed back to the winery, the girls trying to tell them every detail about the last three weeks during the short drive.

~0~

Life returned to normal, even with the knowledge that Jack had to return to Colorado hanging over them. There were business details Jack had to attend to, Daniel had to get into his office to continue his research, and the kids had camp and play dates and sleepovers. There were meals to be prepared, and groceries to be bought, and clothes to be washed, and conversations to be had.

Jack and Daniel argued and made up, they watched TV, and went to festivals, and they made love. They dealt with tears, and baths, and bedtime, childish spats, and doctor visits, and the dog.

In some ways, it was as though they never left, but each day brought them closer to August. Paradoxically, the fact that they hadn’t heard from anyone yet made them more nervous.

It wasn’t until the end of August that anyone from the Air Force contacted them. And when Jack was given his orders, it wasn’t what he expected.

### August

James Vidrine steered his Cadillac easily on the curvy Virginia road. It was a typical humid day and he had the AC at full blast. He was driving through horse country, passing enormous estates, on his way to the Sheppard estate.

James had been to a few parties in this area and to many parties at the Sheppard estate, and it always amazed him that a dirt-poor black kid from D.C. had ended up feeling right at home among this old money wealth. His uniform and rank had allowed him entry into the bastions of the rich and powerful.

He wasn’t wearing his uniform today, but his bearing still radiated its authority. James had ordered O’Neill and Sheppard to meet him, but he didn’t want them showing their faces in Washington or the Pentagon.

What he had to tell them would be countermanding orders from his superiors. James had known for a while that the corruption in the SGC reached far higher, perhaps as far as the Air Force Joint Chief. He hadn’t had any means to deal with that corruption. Perhaps now he did.

James loved his wife, loved his children, loved his country, and loved the Air Force. He had tried to use his rank to put the brakes on Kinsey, Simmons, and Stephens and had had only limited success. His plans were potentially dangerous, but completely necessary. It wasn’t right when good men were badly used to satisfy the greed of others.

James thought about O’Neill and Sheppard. O’Neill’s name had come to attention more than once over the years, usually when he pissed off a commanding officer with his smart mouth. Jack and James had crossed paths a time or two and he’d been astonished at his sense of humor given Jack’s reputation as a stone-cold killer.

And it was James who had been instrumental in getting John an honorable discharge after his friend Patrick had come begging a favor. He’d been happy to help; he disagreed with the military policy on homosexuality and he had always liked John.

He pulled into the long drive leading up to the house and was ushered into a small office at the back of the house. “The room is clean,” John said without preamble as he invited General Vidrine to sit.

James wasn’t surprised to see Doctor McKay already seated. He looked around for Doctor Jackson. “Daniel’s at home with our children,” Jack said, guessing who the General was looking for.

“I want you to know I had nothing to do with your recall orders,” James said bitterly.

“Do you know where the orders came from?” John wanted to know. He spoke respectfully, something he hadn’t managed to do with any ranking officer at the SGC. Once upon a time, he’d called the General ‘Uncle James’.

“I haven’t been able to find that out. I’ve been working to get your recall orders rescinded. I wanted to speak with you privately to give you some advice,” he offered.

“We’re listening,” John said.

“I read the report about your refusal to cooperate,” James chuckled. “I suggest you continue in that vein. The gene therapy Doctor Beckett has been working on still isn’t ready. I suspect it will never be ready if circumstances remain the same,” he revealed.

“Well, we hadn’t planned on cooperating, General, but that exactly doesn’t change things for us,” Jack interjected. He was bitterly disappointed; he had been hoping to hear that the Air Force had come up with a solution or that the government was ready to clean their own house. He exchanged a sour look with John. It looked like the problem was still squarely on their shoulders.

“True, but your recall orders are only for six months.”

“Yeah, but who’s to say they won’t extend that,” Rodney remarked.

“I’m working on it, Doctor McKay. Unfortunately, I don’t know who I can trust or how far up this goes,” he confessed.

“We’d appreciate it if you would keep working at it, General,” John requested.

“You can be sure of that, John,” he promised.

A knock interrupted the men, as a tray with iced coffee, lemonade, and sandwiches was delivered. The men discussed Jack and John’s upcoming trip to Colorado. They were heading there tomorrow morning and Rodney would be going back home. It was what they had agreed upon when they made their deal with Stephens. Neither one of them had even a moment’s hesitation about reneging on their deal; the man they had made the deal with was a dishonorable thief and a thug.

The conversation soon turned away from the SGC and alien technology as James related a few embarrassing stories from John’s youth, with Jack and Rodney laughing till they cried. John retaliated; he’d been saving up a few stories that Jeannie had told him about Rodney’s youth.

When James left, he gave all three men his private number and told them they were free to call him any time.

~0~

Jack and John refused to make any part of the ship work, no matter how loud Stephens yelled or how many threats he made. They sat in the ship for ten hours a day for two days, conversing and playing chess before they were sent home.

Stephens informed them that Kinsey would be dealing with them directly as soon as his schedule allowed.

### September

Rodney stepped up his systematic theft of the off shore accounts. He had been sure the slow but steady bleeding of the accounts would have forced Kinsey, Simmons, and Stephens into a meeting they would hear about, but so far, the three men were being cautious.

Since mid-July, he never let up, hitting a few accounts two or three times a month. He varied the days, the accounts, and the amounts of money being transferred out. He knew the men were aware of the drain because they’d changed financial institutions. It had taken Rodney two hours to find their new accounts and begin his pilfering again.

The money he stole was spread out to various charitable organizations. He sent the money to save kids, the environment, endangered animals, and women living in places they were oppressed. He was the ultimate ghost in the machine, his actions completely untraceable. The men he was stealing from couldn’t go to the police or any other authorities without coming under investigation.

A few days into September, Rodney escalated his campaign of harassment and began cancelling credit cards, changing utility bills to outrageous sums, turning off their electricity in the middle of a brief heat wave, and had Kinsey’s bank foreclose on his house. He hacked the Stephens’ family email and sent the nastiest porn he could find to everyone in their address book and then changed his children’s mediocre grades into failing grades for the last several years. It would take them a good chunk of time to fix this problem and it eventually forced their eldest child to postpone college for a year.

He had started by taking small amounts of money, five hundred bucks here and a thousand bucks there. He upped the ante and began withdrawing five thousand and then ten thousand dollars from several accounts every few days. By the end of September he was losing interest in the game and he decided to hit them hard. He withdrew a million dollars from three of each man’s accounts, parking it in an offshore account under a dummy corporation.

It made Kinsey furious enough to finally make a mistake. He got careless on a cell phone, irate about the theft. He was convinced it had to be Simmons or Stephens, or both working together.

### October

Jack and Daniel were getting ready for bed when the phone rang. The caller was using a voice changer. It sent chills up and down Jack’s spine as the voice sounded eerily like that of Apophis.

“Is this Jack O’Neill?”

“Speaking. Who the hell is this?”

“A friend Mr. O’Neill. Some other friends of yours will be spending the night at 172 Old Post Road, in Croton-on-Hudson on October 14th. It seems they are upset about the state of their finances. Do you have the address?”

Jack repeated the address and hung up.

Hank Landry hung up when he heard the call disconnect. He had thrown up as many roadblocks as he could in an effort to protect Jack, John, and their loved ones. He loved the Air Force, but he was serving voluntarily. Jack and John had once served with honor and pride, but they were civilians now. They had survived a dangerous mission, doing everything that had been asked of them and more, Hank didn’t think it was fair that they were essentially shanghaied, forced into service, and forced into compromising the life they had built for themselves.

His honor and pride demanded he help Jack and John as much as he could. He gave them the address because no one else would and because there were too many people above him who refused to act to change the situation at the SGC. He also believed every man had the right to protect his family against enemies, both foreign and domestic.

His superiors were afraid to act, fearful for their own families, or fearful the gravy train would stop. He pocketed the voice changer, using the phone one last time to thank his friend James. He then wiped down the throwaway cell, crushing it underfoot, kicking the shattered pieces away. Hank sealed the envelope he had taken from his jacket and walked until he found the mailbox at the edge of the park, feeling good about himself for the first time in years. The envelope contained his retirement papers. He strolled back to his car whistling.

~0~

John and Rodney came for dinner and stayed to put Autumn and Wynter to bed, much to their mutual joy. It wasn’t Monday and it felt like a special treat to the girls. It was Daniel’s turn to corral the girls into baths and once in their nightgowns, they came into the living room, wanting goodnight kisses.

John and Rodney took turns scooping them up and kissing soft cheeks. Jack stood and grabbed two hands, leading the girls to their bedroom, Daniel following. Daniel told them a story, they were tucked in, and their door shut. They would soon be sound asleep.

Jack and Daniel rejoined John and Rodney, talking quietly for a half hour. Checking his watch, Jack rose from his easy chair and found John’s eyes. “It’s time.”

The two men went into the master bedroom to change and reemerged to check the kits Jack had prepared. Daniel’s hand rested gently on Jack’s forearm. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

“I know, Daniel. But if we don’t do this, all of this,” Jack swung his arm to encompass the whole of their lives, “goes away. We’ll never be left alone and the girls will never be safe. Not our girls, not Sabrina, not Madison, and not Zakia. Are you willing to take that chance?

Daniel shook his head slowly. He was enraged that Jack and John had been put in this position by their own government. He knew Jack had spent years being ordered to get his hands dirty but this felt different to him.

Rodney knew John would go to hell and back and die if he had to in order to keep his loved ones safe. It was part of his make up and even if Rodney hated it, he couldn’t do a damn about it. He looked at his husband, a fierce expression on his face, eyes blazing, and gave him a brief, hard kiss. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

Daniel stroked Jack’s face. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You can count on it, Daniel.”

The two men, dressed in black and carrying black backpacks left through the back door and walked into the vineyard to retrieve the motorcycle that had been stashed there, hidden among the still lush greenery.

Daniel and Rodney sat to play chess, and began the long wait.

~0~

The bodies of Kinsey, Simmons, and Stephens were found in an upscale home in Westchester. They had all been bound with rope or cords found in the house, and their throats had been cut from ear to ear. The owner of the home had been tied up and placed in a bedroom during the home invasion, but was otherwise unharmed.

All he could tell police was that the two men had been dressed in black from head to toe. He wasn’t even sure about their race. They never uttered a word in his presence, just quickly took control of the four men, binding and separating them. He thought they might have been hired professionals or foreign agents, given how efficiently brutal they were.

Despite an intensive investigation led by the FBI, no useful evidence was found and no suspects panned out. The FBI blamed the local police department, claiming that much of the evidence had been grossly mishandled. They denied it, counter claiming that the FBI had purposely destroyed evidence. The case would remain unsolved and open, even with the loud and strident demands of the surviving family members.

Two weeks after the triple homicide, small padded envelopes were delivered to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The London Times, detailing the theft of nearly a billion tax payer dollars spearheaded by Kinsey, Simmons, and Stephens, along with two dozen other people, including members of the government and several prominent businessmen.

The United States Attorney’s Office opened an immediate investigation. When they unsuccessfully sued for access to the information that was sent to the newspapers, an identical packet showed up at the office of the lead attorney.

The President demanded the resignation of every government person involved and stockholders clamored for a number of CEO’s to immediately step down. The bank accounts of the family members of the three murdered men were frozen and all other assets, including houses, boats, and any cars or jewelry purchased within the last ten years were seized under the strict Rico laws.

A week later, Hammond informed the men that General James Vidrine had been given command of the SGC.

Five days later, Jack and John were officially separated from the Air Force for the second time in their lives. They both received a substantial check and a letter thanking them for their recent service, as did Daniel and Rodney.

### November

Legend was released on the first day of the month, the entire initial release having sold out weeks before. When the reviews started coming in, declaring it a success and an instant classic, Jack and Daniel celebrated with Nicola, Teal’c, Winsome, Brad, John, and Rodney.

Daisy came to stay at the house to watch over Autumn, Wynter, and Zakia, while Jack took everyone to Manhattan to see Phantom of the Opera, booking rooms at The Pierre for a two night stay. They made a special trip into Brooklyn to eat at Peter Lugar’s, and even Winsome was impressed with the aged steak, and the sides of onion rings, thick cut French fries, and creamed spinach.

~0~

A few days after the celebration in New York, Hammond informed Daniel that if he knew of any candidates to join Autumn and Wynter in school, he was prepared to start interviewing them in order to individualize their curriculum.

A week later, Jack and Daniel asked Daisy to babysit the twins and Zakia as they wanted to spend a quiet evening with Winsome and Brad. The four men had agreed on a story that involved the gene, but left out aliens and the threat that had once existed against the children.

They informed Winsome and Brad about the gene and finished up with an invitation to join their daughters at the college. Brad was enthusiastic, as was Winsome, although Jack knew she hadn’t bought the cover story. She managed to corner him alone for a few minutes, again asking if his trouble was finally over.

When he admitted that it was over and done with for good, she nodded knowingly, pursing her lips. Using her sweet voice, she told him that she expected the full story one day and that she and Brad would discuss school with Zakia.

~0~

John and Rodney flew the Cessna to Toronto in order to visit Jeannie and Kaleb. They had essentially the same conversation Daniel and Jack had with Brad and Winsome, but with an added invitation. Both Jeannie and Kaleb were invited to teach at the college. As head of his department, Rodney had carte blanche on new hires within his own department. Hammond had already assured him that there would be a position available for Kaleb in the English Department.

Jeannie grabbed Kaleb’s hand, sniffling. She had been on the phone nonstop with Leah since school had begun. She had been thinking of going back to work now that Madison was a little older. Until Madison’s school had informed her she should begin thinking about finding a school more suitable to her intellect.

Leah had had a nearly identical conversation with Sabrina’s school. She was currently attending a Montessori school and they were suggesting home schooling. Jeannie and Kaleb couldn’t afford a private school and Jeannie had been considering homeschooling for Madison.

Rodney and John’s invitation seemed like the perfect solution. They would discuss it between them and let Rodney know when they made a decision. Jeannie sent Kaleb upstairs to make up the guest room while she began dinner. Once Kaleb was out of earshot, she informed her brother and his husband that she didn’t appreciate being lied to, even if they thought it was for her own good. She wouldn’t press for answers, at least not yet.

They flew to Washington D.C. the next day to meet with David and Leah. They met at Sheppard International and had lunch in Dave’s office with Leah joining them. This time it was Dave that was suspicious. John could see it in his eyes and his demeanor. They invited Sabrina to live with them, or if she preferred, with Jeannie, Kaleb and Madison. This would be a much bigger decision for David and Leah. Although John and David had spent years at boarding school, Leah wasn’t sure she could be separated from her daughter.

~0~

Jack had his life back and he was going to enjoy every moment of it. To that end he began planning a party for two days after Thanksgiving. He wanted to throw a huge party just to let the people in his life know they were appreciated. The Pavilion rarely hosted parties on Thanksgiving weekend and it was no exception this year.

Thanksgiving Day would be spent at the farm, but on Saturday, the party would be at The Pavilion. Jack hired the caterers John used, along with their wait staff. He invited the people of Southold, the college, friends living in other parts of the world, and many of the winery owners in the East End, leaving none of his friends or acquaintances out.

He also invited a number of people from the SGC, wanting them to see and understand what he and Daniel had been forced to leave behind. In the years to come, some of the people who attended the party would remember it when they were fighting their way home and would fight a little harder.

Kaleb would be finishing up the semester and he, Jeannie, and Madison would be staying on after Christmas to begin looking for a house. Hammond spent some time with the Miller family and was very happy to have them on the faculty. He considered the time spent with Madison an interview and was impressed at how bright she was. She would be giving Autumn and Wynter some competition.

David and Leah scheduled a telephone interview for Sabrina with Hammond for the following week. Sabrina decided she would at least like to try. She was comfortable in her uncle’s home and she got along very well with Rodney. There was also Madison, Zakia, and the twins to consider. She had more in common with them and a deeper friendship, than she did with any of the kids at her school.

When they came for Christmas, Sabrina would be staying. Leah was having some difficulty with her decision, but she wanted to do what was best for Sabrina. She was already making plans to visit at least one weekend a month.

### December

The entire family came out early to celebrate Autumn and Wynter’s ninth birthday. The girls and the women celebrated the day getting manicures and pedicures, much to Rodney’s disgust. He couldn’t understand why the twins, Madison, Zakia, and Sabrina would waste their time on such girly activates.

The college was experimenting with full immersion virtual reality and Daniel had secured George’s permission to let the kids use the equipment. His granddaughters, Tessa and Kayla, had been invited to the party and he thought it would be a fun experience for them and the rest of the children. As the technology was being developed for eventual mass marketing and financed by one of the larger game companies, the scientists had been testing out the VR themselves. This would be the perfect opportunity to see how members of the general public would respond.

~0~

On December 22nd, Jack hustled Daniel and the girls out of bed early. Autumn and Wynter were in on the surprise for Daniel, as was the rest of the family. Daniel was grumpy and didn’t hesitate to let Jack know.

“Come on, Daniel, drink your coffee and get dressed,” Jack said, letting part of a giggle escape.

Daniel cocked an eyebrow his way. “Did you just giggle?”

“No,” Jack quickly denied as Autumn and Wynter didn’t bother to stem their high-pitched giggling.

“Let’s go, dad, it’s a surprise,” Wynter said, tugging on Daniel’s arm.

He went to dress and soon found himself in the truck. It was a beautiful day, the warmish weather they’d been having made the air more chill than freezing, and the day was cloudless. Jack drove them to Kenny’s Beach, parking at the closest of the three lots and told the girls to go wait for them on the beach.

“What are we doing here, Jack?”

“Did I ever tell you I first met Joe here on the beach?” Jack asked, knowing he had once, when they first began dating.

“You did, but I don’t remember if you ever told me which beach,” Daniel answered.

They often came to Kenny’s Beach, but Jack never mentioned his first encounter with Joe Cacciatore. It was difficult to remember the damaged, bitter man he’d been.

“It was this one. The day I met Joe changed my whole life, Daniel. I thought this would be the perfect place to. . .” he hesitated.

“To what, Jack?”

Pushing a hand through his hair and looking sheepish, he said, “To have a commitment ceremony. I know we said we were gonna wait until New York passed the laws, but I don’t want to. I came too close to losing you and I don’t want to live for tomorrow.”

Fighting back at the sudden tightness in his chest, Daniel raised shining eyes to his lover. “Just you, me, and the girls? Yeah, that sounds great.”

“Well, just the family, the Reverend Branch, and us,” he confessed.

Smiling, Daniel jumped out of the truck and waited for Jack to join him. He could see the family waiting on the beach.

The two men walked hand in hand to greet everybody. They were only waiting for the Reverend. “She’ll be here in two minutes. I just got off the phone with her,” Winsome informed Jack.

What she didn’t tell her friend was that after he’d told her what he was planning for today, she’d made some plans of her own. Enlisting Jeannie and Leah, Winsome had started making phone calls. Reverend Susan Branch wouldn’t be coming alone. Most of the town and the college would soon be converging on the beach to witness Jack and Daniel pledging their love.

Winsome had managed to keep her temper in check when Jack had told her they would have a brief ceremony and then go home to gear up for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations. She talked to Bernie, who along with Aaron was preparing a champagne breakfast for the family in the Wisteria Room.

As part of their gift, Autumn and Wynter would be spending the next two days at the farm along with Zakia. It wasn’t much of a honeymoon, but John, Rodney, and Winsome were making plans to take the twins some time early in the new year so the men could get away for a week or two.

A dull roar was heard approaching the beach and when the family looked up, they saw a crowd of a few hundred people, led by Susan, making their way down to the beach.

Jack looked stunned and looked at the likely culprit. “When?”

Winsome’s girlish laugh drifted on the chill air. “Five minutes after you told me, O’Neill. You’ve got a lot of friends that want to see you and Daniel stand up together. All you have to do is smile and kiss Daniel.”

No hardship there, Jack thought. Reverend Branch, a short, perpetually smiling woman in her late sixties, shooed the crowd back, asking Autumn, Wynter, John, Rodney, Winsome, and Brad, who were to act as witnesses, to stand off to the side. She was smiling now. Jack had wanted the ceremony short and simple, with just one or two traditional touches. This wasn’t the first ceremony for a gay couple that she’d performed; she modified traditional wedding vows for each couple.

A dozen video cameras were trained upon the two men as their friends wanted to memorialize the ceremony. The crashing of the surf made a gorgeous backdrop, and the sand was clean and sparkled in the sunlight.

Standing in front of the two lovers who were facing each other, she waited for the crowd to quiet down, and began the brief ceremony. “Welcome, friends,” she said, a smile in her tone. Everyone was able to hear her voice, trained once upon a time for singing. “Love, wherever we may find it, should never be taken lightly. It is, without exception, always beautiful and special and should be cherished. Jack and Daniel were lucky enough to find love with each other. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that their love has been seen and shared by many of us, most recently by Autumn and Wynter O’Neill.

“We are all here today as witnesses to that love as Jack and Daniel pledge their lives to each other,” she continued. “Jack, do you promise to love Daniel in good times and bad?”

“Always,” Jack promised, looking into his lover’s eyes.

“Daniel, do you promise to love Jack in good times and bad?”

“Yes,” Daniel vowed, his eyes never leaving his lover.

“Good. Keep it in mind when you’re fighting. Always remember the love you have for each other and your friendship. Take care of each other, your children, your family, and your friends.”

At this, Winsome handed a small box to each of the girls on either side of her. Autumn gave her box to Daniel, and Wynter handed hers to Jack. Jack opened his box and put the ring within on Daniel’s finger. The ring in Daniel’s box went on Jack’s finger.

“Okay boys, you can kiss now. I understand you’ve got a breakfast to get to and then the rest of us can get back to our fireplaces,” Reverend Branch concluded to the laughter of all.

Jack and Daniel shared a gentle kiss and the quiet beach exploded in clapping and cheers. Birdseed was thrown amid much laughter and chatter. The two men accepted the congratulations of their friends and neighbors, before returning to the truck and home.

Bernie and Aaron had outdone themselves. They had prepared a breakfast worthy of royalty. They began with assorted breakfast hors d’oeuvres such as mini French toast and scrambled egg tartlets. They also had several different types of frittatas, grilled veggies, a hearty vegetable soup, yogurt, fruit, bacon, grilled salmon, smoked salmon and sable, scones with clotted crème, bagels, muffins, croissants, and an assortment of rolls. They stood ready to prepare omelets, French toast, waffles, crepes, or pancakes, and small individual pizzas.

Billy and Brian were busy at the bar providing the guests with mimosas, Bellini’s, champagne, and nonalcoholic fruit drinks for the kids.

There was carrot cake and two cheesecakes rather than a traditional wedding cake. All of them were topped with two small grooms in deference of the day.

Halfway through the celebration, Winsome, Jeannie, Leah, and Billy left to deliver the extra food Bernie had prepared, along with several bottles of champagne. The cleaning service had been out to the house right after the family had left in the morning.

They had bought flowers the day before and these were now spread around the house. Billy set up a small table in the bedroom in case the two men wanted to dine there.

The women had chipped in for silk pajamas and they laid them out on the bed, which they turned down. They took a last look around, ensuring the house met their standards for romance, and returned to the party.

~0~

Jack and Daniel were sent back to the house, amid mildly ribald comments and catcalls. The family stayed to eat and party some more. They were just as comfortable here as they were at the farm or their own homes. There really was no reason to hurry home; all their shopping had been done and they were having fun.

The two men entered the house, and were surprised by the flowers. Daniel grabbed Jack’s hand urging him upstairs. They laughed when they saw the pajamas, tossing them onto the overstuffed easy chair. Pajamas would only get in the way tonight.

“I’ve been wondering if married sex is any different,” Jack said, taking Daniel in his arms.

Giving Jack’s ass a friendly squeeze, Daniel replied, “I hate to break it to you, Jack, but we’re not really married.”

Cupping his lover’s throat, Jack became serious. “That’s where you’re wrong, Daniel. We are married, no matter what the state might have to say about it, and we have been for a long time.”

Daniel leaned in for a kiss and began undressing Jack. He stripped him slowly, caressing and kissing the bared flesh. His touch was light and fleeting in some places, firm and knowing in others. Their years together had taught him what touch Jack liked on every inch of his body.

When he was naked, Jack stripped Daniel, his hands shaking a bit. He moved them to the bed, laying Daniel down and then licked and sucked his way up and down the lush, strong body writhing under his mouth.

They made love languidly, letting the passion build, ignoring hard aching cocks. Daniel lavished attention on Jack’s balls, sucking them gently, mouthing them, and lapping at them with a broad, flat tongue.

Bending Jack’s long legs close to his body, Daniel sucked wetly on Jack’s perineum, sliding his lips up and down on the swollen flesh before moving his mouth to lightly bite and suck at Jack’s hole. He added fingers to his tongue, stretching him.

Jack was moaning, pushing his body into Daniel’s face. “Now, Daniel, please,” Jack pleaded.

Daniel moved behind his lover, as Jack rolled to his side, bending one leg up. He wanted as much skin contact as possible. Daniel entered Jack in a long, slow slide, plastering his chest to Jack’s back.

He circled his hips, angling for the small nub deep inside Jack’s body. He could feel his lover quivering beneath him, as he turned seeking Daniel’s mouth in a slick, torrid, open mouth kiss.

Jack loved being filled by Daniel, loved opening himself to his lover, loved the feeling of being owned. Daniel gave a small grunt with every thrust, the low pitched sound zinging Jack’s balls with a small jolt of pleasure every time.

Daniel gripped Jack’s hips tightly, driving his cock in Jack’s sweet ass as deeply as he could. The tight heat gripped his throbbing cock tenderly, and his balls tightened up and drew close to his body.

He moved his hand to Jack’s leaking cock, pumping him as he thrust inside his lover’s body, pushing and thrusting wantonly. They were both sweating freely, bodies shining, as muscles stood out in stark relief.

Jack had been struggling to hold off his orgasm, climbing higher each time, until Daniel’s big, rough hand grasped his rigid cock. Slamming his body back, he sobbed his lover’s name, and came explosively into Daniel’s hand.

Jack’s spasms shook his body, tearing Daniel’s orgasm from his body. He pulled Jack closer to him as aftershocks racked him and he moved his body in several shallow thrusts, humming in contentment.

Jack found Daniel’s hand and threading their fingers together, lay boneless and spent in the aftermath. They lay together, wordlessly, still joined, as their breath and heartbeats slowed.

Daniel waited until he softened and slipped out of Jack. He went and poured two glasses of champagne, chilling in an ice bucket. He handed a glass to Jack and sipped his as he got a washcloth from the bathroom and cleaned himself and Jack.

They drank their champagne, kissing and touching, enjoying each other and their time alone. They silently thanked their friends when they went to fix something to eat and found enough food to last for days. They fixed a tray and ate in bed.

They were grateful for the two days they had together, and did nothing but make love, eat, and talk, leaving the bedroom only for food. The rest of the world was shut away and they recognized this oasis of time for the gift it was.

The next day was Christmas Eve and Jack and Daniel had a family to get back to. It was near midnight when they turned out the lights. They held each other, drifting into sleep.

Outside, a cold front was moving in, along with the promise of snow. The vineyard lay dormant for the season, lit by the cold beauty of a full moon. Only a few miles away, the surf pounded and crashed. In the still air of the night, a barking dog broke the silence, and was hushed by his owners.

Carving happiness out of life is never easy, but the people in this tiny corner of the universe tried and mostly succeeded. They had each other and they had love.


End file.
